What We Die For
by Furiouswind
Summary: After the SSS left purgatory, a new bunch of students enters only to find that an army of shadows awaits them. As the new generation of SSS members wage a bloody war, the reincarnated SSS go about their new lives in peace. But not for long.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a fic i wrote after the last episode of Angel Beats! aired. I'm sure everyone, just like me, felt unsatisfied with the ending and story in general. It could have gone on longer than 13 episodes (plus one bonus episode coming out in the dvd).

The general story for this fic is that after the SSS left the world of purgatory, a new bunch of students entered the World. But all isn't normal, as the Angel Player program that alters the NPCs went berserk after Yuri failed to shut it down properly. This resulted in a large amount of Shadows being formed. The newcomers do not understand much about the World, and upon finding the things left over by the previous SSS, they take up arms to defeat the Shadows.

I posted the idea on the forum i frequent, , about writing this fic, and also tossed around the idea of having a game based on Angel Beats! This fic is following what i think a great game for Angel Beats! should be like.  
- Creating customizable characters  
- Create customizable weapons  
- Fight unlimited number of enemies  
- Currencies would be Food tickets, dirt and essences (will be explained in later chapters)

I have drawn 6 OCs to help me visualize, and also explained about their characters, past, and weapons. You can see it all here (add the http yourself and change the words into actual symbols):

flamingnoodletoiletbowls(dot)wordpress(dot)com/original-character-designs-part-1-kurogane-kou/

The other five are in the tabs above the blog.

If you want to have your own character inside my fic, you're more than welcome to send me a mail or review. Please include the following:  
-Name (it can be initials as well, like TK)  
-Personality  
-Weapons  
-Catch Phrase  
-History  
-Drawing (if you want to)

Unlike the anime series and the novels, my fic is darker in nature. The new SSS (dubbed SSS2) do not have the leisure of fighting only one enemy. Their fighting an army of Shadows who constantly appear to attack them, so there will be a lot of fighting. But i'm also including other activities that the SSS also did.

This fic also includes the reincarnated SSS members in their new World.

There are also many cameos from other anime/manga/key productions/games. If you know the reference, feel proud about yourself.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats! It ALL goes to Key, Aniplex, and Maeda Jun (genius... pure genius, he writes, he composes and he directs... how much more perfect can you get?). HOWEVER, all OCs belong to me.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 1_

_Awakening_

I opened my eyes. All i could see was the night sky. What was i doing here? Why am i on the floor? I sat up, scratching my head as i tried to reorganize my thoughts. I looked around, noticing the nearby building had the lights turned on. Was there something there? In the first place, where was this place? Where am i? I looked down at myself, and saw that i was dressed in some sort of uniform. A school uniform? Was this a school? Am i a student here? If that's the case, then why was i lying on the floor like that?

"Hey, are you alright?"

Another person came running to me. Dressed in similar styled attire, the young girl that came towards me seemed to be slightly... different. For one, it wasn't that she looked odd, rather quite the contrary. She was quite beautiful to look at. But what seemed different was her presence. She gave of a feeling of... regret. It was hard to describe how or why i could sense such emotions from her, but somewhere in my gut it told me so. Another thing that was odd about her was the fact that she was carrying a gun. A sniper's rifle to be exact. What in the world was she using that for? The girl offered me a hand, which i took and she helped me up to my feet. She stronger than i thought.

"Thanks... Don't mind me asking if this sounds weird but... do you know where this place is?"

The girl stared at me for a moment, before nodding her head in some sort of agreement with her inner self.

"I guess you're one of us. Tanaka was right, then."

The girl slung her rifle over her shoulder and pointed towards the other end where there were more buildings.

"This is a school. More specifically, this is a school for the dead. More like the afterlife."

School of the dead? Afterlife? What sort of movie had she been watching recently? And just how badly had she hit her head?

"You don't seem to believe me. Do you remember that you died?"

Died? Me? Impossible. I'm alive right here and now. I can feel my body, i can breathe normally and-

"... W-who am i?"

I came to realize that i forgot my own name. What was i doing before lying down on the floor? The girl rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"So, you are one of those who forgot everything. Well, not exactly rare around here, but not that common either. Can you remember at least something?"

"... Ku... Kuro... Kurogane... Yes, i think that's my name... Kurogane."

"Hmm, Kurogane. First name?"

I tried to think back, but nothing came to me.

"I can't remember."

"That's alright. Anyway, we're gathering up in the gym. Come on, i'll lead you there."

The girl turned to go, but somehow i just can't trust her words. I just can't believe that this is the afterlife and also being a school for the dead. The girl seemed to sense that i wasn't following, and she turned around.

"Well? Aren't you going to follow?"

"I still can't believe that this is the afterlife, i mean, how can you prove it?"

The girl sighed, shaking her head in dismay. What? Did i say something wrong? I'm sure that what i just asked was within the boundaries of what is normal of a situation like this.

"First off, i can shoot you in the head or heart and you won't die. Want me to test it out?"

"Are you nuts?"

"No, I'm being quite serious. But anyway, you wouldn't want to keep loitering around here in the open. Soon 'they' will appear."

Okay, now I'm confused.

"Who's 'they'?"

"Well... them."

The girl pointed towards my back. I turned around, and saw what seemed to be black smoke. No, it wasn't smoke. It had a humanoid shape, large and somewhat menacing feel to it. Fear ran throughout my entire body as i could not find myself able to move. The 'smoke creature' took slow steps at first, but then its pace quickened, aiming straight for... me.

"Get down!"

I felt a hand push me down onto the floor, and the impact of my head crashing into the ground was enough to make my head spin. All i heard was gunshots before i blacked out completely.

* * *

I awoke once more, staring up at a ceiling. At least this wasn't outside in the open. I got up from what seemed to be an infirmary bed, and started to recollect my thoughts. Was it all a dream? I turned and saw a familiar face sleeping soundly with her head on the bed and an equally familiar weapon in hand. Guess it wasn't a dream after all. Thinking back, i had to wonder what was that large shadow? It wasn't like anything i had seen before. Just what was that? The girl mumbled something as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her unkempt hair falling slightly past her shoulders.

"Ah, you're awake."

She yawned, getting up from her chair and stretching out her arms.

"You hit your head pretty hard yesturday."

If i recall properly, it was you who pushed me down to the floor. But still, there were many things that i did not get. Like the fact that this was the afterlife. I still didn't buy that story. To me, this girl is simply crazy. That shadow creature? A figment of my imagination. Yeah, that's what it should be. The door to the infirmary opened and a bunch of students rushed in, carrying what seemed to be an injured student. Blood. The moment i saw it my mind froze. I felt sick just seeing it. The girl noticed that i was hunched over and covering my mouth.

"Are you alright?"

I took a moment, before nodding. The feeling was subsiding. But why did i react that way?

"It must be that you had experienced some traumatic event in your past with blood. Anyway, this scene is something you'll have to get used to."

"Yuki."

The girl looked at at the call of her name, and saw a guy standing by the infirmary doorway, carrying an assault rifle. What was this, a battlefield? Considering the number of firearms and yesturday's events, i think it would qualify under such.

"Jin, what happened?"

"More of them appeared by the science room. Took us by surprise and managed to injure Souji."

Jin explained, pointing to the injured student who was laid down on the bed next to mine. His blood was soaking the sheets, but the other students who brought him here did not bother to stop the bleeding, just grab bandages and wrapping the wounds clumsily. I'm guessing no one has any experience with first aid. Seeing such sloppy work made me slightly irritated, and i don't know what snapped in my head, but i jumped out of my bed and pushed the students aside, taking off their messed up first aid work.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

One of the guys demanded. I simply grabbed a nearby gauze, applying pressure. I ignored the others as i cleaned the wounds and started to bandage it properly. The wounds was rather deep, and with so many of them all over this kid's body, i won't be surprised if he died. Dead. I checked his chest. His heart was still beating like normal. But with the amount of blood he lost, surely his heart would have gone into arrest. That was when i noticed that several of the small cuts were beginning to close up. Right before my eyes. Regeneration? Now this was getting into the realm of the ridiculous.

"You know first aid?"

One of the girls asked. I grabbed a nearby wet towel to wipe my hands of the blood. The sight still left a sour taste at the back of my mouth. To be truthful, i didn't know what went through me. How did i know what was the proper procedure for first aid?

"I know only this much. Where did he get such wounds?"

I turned to asked the group, who only looked at each other, then back to me.

"By the shadows, of course."

"The shadows?"

"You don't know?"

They asked me in a surprised tone. As if it was common knowledge. It isn't to me.

"Shadows are the things that attacked you last night."

Yuki explained, walking up to me.

"There is much that needs to be explained. Why don't we go for a walk?"

I felt like i didn't have much of a choice.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I haven't done up Yuki's design, but she is more or less like Yuri... still, i haven't gotten any idea how she should look like.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 2_

_Legacy_

By a walk, what she meant was going to grab a drink, labelled 'Key' coffee, and bring me up to the roof of one of the school buildings overlooking the track field. The sun was beginning to set as some students were still running around the field. Club activities perhaps. But what bothered me was that normal activities were still going on even though those 'shadows' attacked.

"So, this is the afterlife."

I try to accept that fact, though it was still pretty hard to.

"Yes. We are basically souls who have lingering regrets and being unable to pass on."

"Sounds religious."

"Well, whatever way you put it, it is still fact. Those of us who join the classes and the normal activities would disappear."

"Disappear?"

"Pass on."

Yuki explained, taking a sip of her 'Key' Coffee.

"Why would they disappear?"

"Don't really know. It's just the way this world works."

"... Then what about those people down there?"

I point to the ones running around the field.

"Ah, those are like NPCs."

"Huh?"

"'Non-player character'"

"Is this a game?"

Yuki snorted at that.

"You wish."

"So... what, if you talk to them, they'll only reply you with the same sentence?"

"No, they'll have a normal conversation with you. They seem to be like normal people, but they do not act outside of their programming. We can wave guns in front of their faces and they wouldn't scream or shout."

That example was a little extreme, but i can understand what she meant.

"The teachers as well?"

"Yup. All of them."

"Hmm... So, where did you find the guns?"

Yuki looked up to the fiery orange sky, pointing up there. Was she referring to whoever ran this place? God? But does God exist? I was never one to understand religion, never one to believe it. The only thing i believed in was myself and the results that hard-work and effort brought.

"If you're thinking 'God', then you're stupid. No, there were others like us. They stood their ground against an enemy they called 'Tenshi'."

"Angels? They exist?"

"No... Not that i know of. The first few of us who came here didn't notice anything different. Some of us passed on by going to classes, but others were confused and started to wander around. That was when 'they' appeared."

"By 'they' you mean the shadows."

Yuki nodded in reply before continuing with her story.

"The shadows started to attack us, only us and not the NPCs. They usually attack at night, but once or twice a week they'll attack in the day time. Those of us who were lucky found a whole underground network of mazes that led to two different locations. Two 'factories', you may call it. The larger one had been destroyed, but the smaller factory still exists and had a number of weapons lying around. We had to go through a whole lot of traps to get there, but it was worth the pain of dying a few times to find those weapons. We also found a diary log that explained everything about weapons and the shed a little light on the previous group. The 'SSS', Shinda Sekai Sen-sen."

That name sounded weird. And why did the initials sound like a rather infamous group of evil people?

"So, what did this SSS do?"

"They fought against Tenshi, but later also fought against the shadows. The log ends where the entire factory, called the 'guild', is shut down and all members were to pass on to avoid being eaten by the shadows."

"Eaten?"

"Back then, the shadows they fought simply absorbed them and turned them into NPCs. The shadows we fight are different, where they injure and would kill us."

"I thought we can't die?"

"We can't. But do you know how painful it is to die? Maybe not since you forgot how you died."

Well, sorry if i can't remember something that i don't think even happened.

"Anyway, we speculate that if we're wounded, it is more likely for the shadows to absorb us into NPCs."

Being a mindless drone in this world did not seem like such a prospective thought. Maybe it would be best for me to join this group of people, even though i still think this is all nuts.

"So... how's the fight going?"

I asked, and Yuki's reaction did not show any promise.

"We still cannot understand anything of this world or of the shadows. The Guild's log said that the SSS's main office was in the principal's office, but we can't get in as there is a giant hammer that kicks everyone out of the third floor window when we try to open the door."

"... Huh?"

"I'll show you."

* * *

Yuki led me towards a separate building that was by the side of the track field, and the first thing i noticed was how well barricaded it was. Several armed students stood guard by the windows and main doorway, though they moved aside the barricades when Yuki waved at them. Stepping into the building, I had noticed that the number of weapons and supplies that were scattered about the hallways of this small building made this look more like a military bunker. A rather disorganized one at that.

"We came here after realizing that the SSS head office was here, but after several failed attempts to get into the office, we began to use this place as our main fort."

Yuki explained, nodding to several students who saluted as she walked by.

"We dug a new tunnel from the Guild to connect to this building in order to secure our supply line."

"Don't the shadows attack the tunnels as well?"

"Yes, though quite rare. The reason for that is that we constantly send teams out into the open to lure the shadows away from Guild and the tunnels."

Yuki explained, finally stopping outside a rather impressive wooden door. Labelled on the outside plaque were the words 'Principal office'. Yuki walked over to a male student who was kneeling before a computer set-up on the floor. He was accompanied with a female student who was flipping through papers of notes and data.

"Hiromi-chan, Fujiwara-kun, how are you progressing?"

Yuki asked. While the guy, Fujiwara, did not seem to notice Yuki, let alone answer her question, the girl turned to Yuki to answer.

"Ah, Yuki-san. We haven't gotten much through. The last few attempts sent Taisuke out the window."

"Kimura-san, please don't refer to me in such a familiar way."

The guy, Fujiwara, shot back, seemingly rather irritated that Hiromi called him by his first name like they were very close to each other.

"Sorry..."

Hiromi hung her head low, somewhat sad about the whole thing.

"So? What have you found, Fujiwara-kun?"

Yuki turned to the guy now that she caught his attention. He shifted his glasses slightly, and pressing the 'enter' key on the computer before standing up and walking over to the door handle. Yuki used her hand and pushed me back away from the door. I had to wonder why she did this, but just before i could ask a giant slot opened from the ceiling, and a giant hammer came swinging down from above, knocking Fujiwara off his feet and out of the window at the end of the hallway. This was the third floor, right?

"Don't worry about him, he'll be alright after an hour."

Yuki said just as the hammer began to reset itself.

"... Why can't you just make another entrance in?"

I ask, though that felt like a stupid question, especially considering the reaction that the other two were giving me at the moment.

"The entire building would regenerate itself quickly, and since we made this our fort, we can't just set off explosions or knock down walls that may compromise the structure."

Something about 'compromising' the structure when it regenerates doesn't add up, but i didn't bother ask. This world was just messed up as it is.

"... Can i see that?"

I ask Hiromi, and the girl looked back slightly confused. She turned to Yuki for answers, and the Yuki nodded.

"Go ahead."

Hiromi nodded and handed me her notes.

"... Are you the leader around here?"

I ask Yuki as i flip through the notes.

"Not really. There isn't a single leader for our group."

Yuki replied, though Hiromi seemed to disagree.

"Yuki-san is one of the five that others follow as our leaders. She is mainly in-charge of this base of operations and the second division."

Second division, what sort of military hierarchy is this? Yuki seemed to dislike that title and arrangement, but added no comment. I decided not to pry any further, turning my attention back to the notes that Hiromi handed to me. Flipping through the notes, i found that these were mainly notes that were about the Guild and weapons creation. There were a number of references to the SSS, but nothing concrete. This just made the SSS even more mysterious. Who were they exactly? What did they fight against? Why were they created? And why did they disappear? However what did seem clear was that the SSS was the very first organized group of humans in this world. They brought weapon creation and organization to new levels, industrializing the creation of weapons and waging wars against their enemies.

According to the log, a number of references to various missions hinted that the SSS were well-equipped and well versed in battles and strategies. Though the log doesn't really explain what each operation was, it certainly did sound impressive. But something about the equipment used for some of these operations were slightly questionable. What the hell was operation 'Monster Stream' that needed nothing but fishing rods and bait? This only made this SSS organization even more mysterious the more i read on- Hm? A single line caught my attention, and i focused my eyes onto it. This line did not seem to fit the rest of the log. For what purpose was this written here? Maybe i should just try it.

"... 'No God, No Buddha, No Angels'"

The moment i said this, a click came from above. Judging by the surprised looks on Yuki and Hiromi, I'm guessing that never happened before. I reach out and touch the door knob. Nothing happened at first. I tested the handle again, and still nothing happened. Feeling a little braver, i opened the door and stepped into the heart of the SSS. Or what should be it. I stepped into a room littered with a random assortment of things. Laptops, guns, handcuffs, swords, a halberd, and many other odd objects. One of the most noticeable thing about the room was the amount of wind-up toy puppies. Toy puppies, what the heck was that for?

"So this is the main office. Hiromi-chan, the computer."

Yuki pointed to the main desk where a computer sat. Hiromi nodded and headed straight for the computer to access it.

"Good job with the door. You managed to get it almost immediately when it took us months. We always thought it would be some sort of complicated password."

Yuki congratulated me, though there wasn't much that should be congratulated for. They just didn't look hard enough.

"But this isn't what you expected."

I said, looking around the room, eyeing the soft toys in particular.

"I wasn't really expecting anything. But seeing this we can tell that the SSS were indeed humans, like us. They may have a few quirks here and there, but that makes all of our efforts worthwhile."

I wasn't sure about what Yuki had said. Was it really worthwhile? I still had to wonder about fighting those shadows, and i wasn't even sure if this was the real afterlife. But then what the heck is a real afterlife. Better not get into too much details.

"Yuki-san. You might want to take a look at this."

Hiromi signalled Yuki to go over to the computer. Since i was rather curious as well, i followed and saw from the computer whole lists. There were the operation details, the inventory of weapons made by Guild, and many other things. But the two most important things on the computer, were the list of names of the SSS members, and the diary log of the co-founder and sole leader of the SSS. A person named-

"Nakamura... Yuri."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The last names/surnames of the reincarnated SSS all come from their voice actors/actresses.

If any names do not sound familiar, feel free to ask me.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 3_

_Highest Life_

Part 2

She looked up, as though hearing her name being called. But why did she look up? As though there was a voice that came from the skies above. What a stupid thought. The only realistic explanation for a voice to call her name from the skies would be a jumper either from a building or from a plane. And most likely that person is an idiot. But that wasn't her name in the first place, though somehow it still sounded familiar and she responded instinctively. Speaking of idiots...

"Yurippe!"

A rather irritating voice shouted her name. She didn't bother to turn to her name, but as the loud running steps of that very same person came closer, she began to clench her fist. With one turn, she sent a punch flying into the face of a familiar friend. Or childhood friend.

"Ugah! W-what was that for?"

He screamed at her, making all others turn to look their way. That made her even more angry.

"Don't shout so early in the morning, you idiot!"

Deciding that a punch wouldn't work, she slapped his face straight on. Epic face-palmage. Some of the passing students laughed at that sight, adding to her embarrassment.

"Anyway, why do you have to keep calling me that dumb nickname?"

"B-but my mom has the same name. Feels weird calling you by that name!"

Ah yes, his mother. Sweet lady, slightly over-bearing and a little too meddlesome in her own son's affairs. Well, she knew how he felt about his mother having her hand and face in everything he does so maybe he did have some good reason to not want to call other people with her name-

"That still doesn't add up!"

She sent another face slap. She turned her focus back to the large building that stood before her. Taking in a deep breath, she clenched her fist and steeled herself.

"Right, since you just transferred in, i get to show you around."

She turned to her childhood friend, and nodded.

"I leave myself in your care, Hideki-kun."

He gave his usual idiotic smile.

"Sure thing, Yurippe."

"Don't call me that!"

* * *

She stepped into the staff room, looking for her homeroom teacher. According to Hideki, she should be in the same class as him and her teacher should be sitting by the end-

"Ah, there he is... Hm?"

She noticed that the teacher was already talking with another student. With an ember orange colour hair, the young man seemed to be engaging in quite a long conversation with the teacher. She walked over to the desk and the teacher noticed her presence.

"Ah, Sakurai Yuri-san, am i right?"

The teacher asked.

"Yes. I heard that you are my homeroom teacher?"

She questioned. Judging by the way the desk is all messed up, she could not say much about how this teacher would be like later in the term.

"Yes, that's right. I'm your homeroom teacher, Takagawa Shoichirou. Well, you aren't the only transfer student. Strange why is it my class that gets all the weirdos and transfer students."

Her homeroom teacher did not even bother to say that last bit discreetly. She didn't know if that was on purpose, or just the teacher's lazy rudeness. But wait, wasn't the only transfer student? She turned to the young man with the orange hair standing next to her.

"Are you a transfer student as well?"

She asked. The young man nodded, extending out his hand.

"Looks, like we're in the same class. I'm Kamiya Yuzuru. Yoroshiku."

That name sounded somewhat familiar, and so did his face. But she was sure she would remember him more clearly if she did meet him before. Perhaps it was only a passing glance in a street before? She took his hand, and felt a strange tingling sensation run up her spine. This feel. It was familiar. Somewhat nostalgic.

"Erm... are you alright? Here, tissue."

He offered a packet. She looked to him with a puzzled look, before she realized that she had tears running down her cheeks. Why was this so?

"Ah, i'm sorry. Must be something in my eye. I'm alright. I'm Sakurai Yuri. Pleased to meet you."

She wiped her tears away with her sleeve. Her strange reaction made her slightly worried. Was she getting ill?

"Erm... don't mind me asking, but have we met somewhere before?"

Yuzuru asked. Did he feel that same as she did as well?

"... I don't think so."

For now, she would just believe that it was a coincidence. Or that he was trying to hit on her. No, there was something about him that she knew she could trust. Woman's instinct?

"Yuzuru."

A new voice surprised her, and Yuzuru turned around, seeing a young girl with long silver hair. She was rather cute, somewhat to a point where Yuri herself was feeling rather envious. But there was something else about that girl that Yuri found somewhat nostalgic. Perhaps it was her mind trying to fit in as soon as possible.

"Ah, Kanade. I was just talking to sensei here. Are you done with your work?"

Yuzuru asked, his face somewhat red and yet smiling radiantly. Ah, so that's how it was. Yuri now felt slightly out of place with these two over-the-top, obviously, flowerbed-background, love-love stupid couple. The silver haired girl shook her head, smiling softly.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You tend to stick your nose into other people's business, so i was worried you ran off somewhere else besides the staffroom."

Ah, so much for having confidence in your own boyfriend. Well, Yuri knew that sometimes boys tended to disappear and run off to somewhere you wouldn't know.

"That's harsh, Kanade. It's not as if i'm some main character in a dating sim."

"You still play those?"

Kanade raised her eyebrow at him, making him swallow hard.

"Ah... well... from time to time. A-anyway, don't you need to go now? Being the student council president must be a lot of work."

Kanade narrowed her eyes at Yuzuru, before sighing, letting him off the hook for now.

"Ah, Hanazawa-san, you came just at the right time. Can you take this? I need to hand it to the principal, but he's never around to get it done. Since you're going to do the opening speech instad of the principal, you might as well hold onto this."

Takagawa sensei passed a sheet to Kanade, who took it and looked through it once before nodding.

"Alright. I'll hold onto this till i see the principal."

"Thanks."

Yuri thought for the moment that her new teacher was really useless. Not being able to hand a piece of paper to the principal himself. But then again, what sort of principal disappears so often that the teacher doesn't even know when he is suppose to appear?

"Yuzuru, i have to go. Naoto-kun is going to get angry."

Kanade turned back to Yuzuru, who nodded.

"Ah, tell Ayato that i said hi."

Kanade bowed to the teacher before leaving. Speaking of which, Yuri didn't even notice that girl's presence till she spoke. It was like she was a ghost or something.

"... Did you transfer in just for your girlfriend?"

Yuri asked Yuzuru, whose face just exploded in a deep shade of red.

"A-ah... W-well... it was coincidence."

"Reeaallly..."

Her sarcastic voice made him look another way.

"I-i wanted to transfer in anyway. My parents work overseas often. With my younger sister wanting to stay in Japan because of her friends, i had to stay behind to look after her as well. This school is pretty close to hers and my home, so it is much easier to commute."

"Hmm... And Kanade-chan?"

"E-eh... w-well, we... we met outside a departmental store a few weeks before i transferred."

"So you did transfer in for her sake as well."

"... No comment."

That was his final answer. Yuri could not help but smile. This would certainly be an interesting school to be in.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: How i visualize the new Guild is that it is more like a military factory. Restructuring the entire system to fit the story was somewhat hard... needing to be more flexible so i allowed a lot of freedom.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 4_

_Guild_

Part 3

It's been the three days since i arrived in this odd world. It seems that although each student had been assigned a room in the dorms, only a few members go back there to sleep. The rest hunker down in the principal's building and down in the tunnels. According to Yuki, there are around two hundred of them. That is quite a large number of members, though only fifty of them are on actual active combat duty. A large number of the students work around the clock to repair and rebuild the two Guilds. There is also an intelligence division and a diversion division. The intelligence division was suppose to be in-charge of gathering any information on the shadows and acting as an alarm system for the rest to know whenever a shadow would attack. The diversion division was separate from the main fighting force, used mainly to deceive the NPCs.

They would attend some classes (and even in those cases they would not pay attention and do weird things), and also perform club-like activities to act as a 'front' for the rest of the group's activities. According to Yuki, the NPC teachers would try to force them to go to class if the diversion division wasn't active. It had also been shown that the activities of shadows would increase if the diversion team didn't do their job properly. They would lure the Shadows away from the tunnels and the Guild and gather them all up in the same place, allowing the assault teams to move in for the kill. In short, they are what this World looks at when they see this group of rag-tag fighting students.

I look down at myself, wearing a new uniform from the normal NPC uniforms. This was distributed by Yuki to all members and now it was easier to see who was a member and who wasn't. This was the SSS uniform. The emblem had the motto 'Rebels Against the God' written at the bottom. Yuki said that since they had more or less inherited the will of the former SSS, they too would carry on the legacy, though they would call themselves the SSS2. And so using a black marker, Yuki just wrote a '2' at the back of the logo. Isn't this considered rather rude? For the past three days, i had stayed in the principal's office together with Kimura Hiromi, Fujiwara Taisuke, and Taeno Yuki to look through the logs and documents the previous SSS had kept. Some bits were messy and disorganized, but for the most part it was all very well kept and documented.

There were several other students in the room, but they constantly moved in and out of the office, so i never really got to know them. Yuki had told me that the leaders and main people in-charge would meet tomorrow, so i would probably meet the rest of the group then. Helping the others sort through the information left by the SSS, we came to realize much more about this World. Most of the time the SSS waged war against the student council president whom they initially called 'Tenshi', though that angel wasn't an angel at all, but a person who entered this world in order to wait and thank the person who saved her life. A touching story, but it did not have much to do with our situation. There weren't much information on the Shadows, but it was said that during the previous SSS period, they fought an entire army of Shadows. Being pressed back by an endless wave of enemies, they decided to pass on. At least the majority of them. A small number remained in order to end the threat and they did succeed, though the details on what happened were little and not all too helpful.

However, what the leader of the SSS, Nakamura Yuri, noted in her logs, was that the Shadows were created from NPCs. Shadows created from NPCs, this sounded like a very bad dream. Not to mention that the Shadows themselves would soon turn on the NPCs, transforming harmless NPCs into Shadows as well. From what the intelligence division had gathered, the Shadows this time round were not that different from what the previous SSS fought. They spawned from NPCs and they would also try to attack other NPCs. However what the intelligence division found was that the defeated Shadows would disappear and the original NPC would appear the next day as though nothing had happened. It was like a complete reset. But that also meant that there wouldn't be an end to the Shadows. It had to make me wonder. Against these insurmountable odds, why didn't this SSS2 decide to pass on? Wouldn't that solve everything?

"Have you ever thought of what lies on the other side? Everyone of us who came here didn't die because we wanted to. No on who commits suicide comes here. We all wanted to live. And because we are clinging onto life, holding onto regrets, and afraid of what lies ahead that we decided to stay here."

That was what Yuki told me when i asked her about it. Afraid of what lies ahead. Can't say i don't understand them, even if i can't remember anything from my past. Not being able to remember anything makes one afraid of going anywhere. Being unsure of everything around you, unable to make a step forward in fear of what possible backlash there would be waiting. Of course, there would be others who would walk anywhere if they forgot everything. Unafraid, daring and uninhibited. Sometimes i feel envious of such people. But i wasn't. I wonder why.

"It's almost night. The Shadows would be appearing soon."

Yuki spoke up, dropping the papers in her hand onto the table. Speaking of which, it was getting dark. In the past few days, i had seen two large battles that occurred right outside of this building. The students used every window to shoot out from, making this a rather hard to enter building if you chose to assault from the front like how those Shadows did. Runners kept on going to and from the front-lines to the tunnels to bring in fresh ammunition, and additional reinforcements would also use the tunnels to get around the school quickly.

"We could use something like 'Operation Tornado'. We gather the NPCs in the cafeteria and use the diversion team to cause a scene. That way we can prevent any more NPCs to transform into Shadows during the first 'Shadow Hour'."

Imagawa Jin, the boy who was at the infirmary to report to Yuki when i woke up, had suggested. Imagawa wasn't exactly large, but he wasn't small either. If anything, i would call him 'average', if you discount his constant scowl. It made him look rather disgruntled with something, or someone. 'Shadow Hour' was the prime hour that the Shadows would appear. There were two 'Shadow Hours', one during the NPCs' dinner time, and the other was at the stroke of midnight. During the first Shadow Hour, the Shadows would attack the NPCs in the cafeteria and create a larger number of Shadows. Because of how the NPCs were scattered all over the place, it was hard to protect them to prevent more Shadows from being born. What Jin suggested could work. The second Shadow Hour is during midnight, and it can be considered when all hell breaks loose.

All Shadows during the first hour that weren't killed would reappear and target the SSS2 members. Injured SSS2 members were extremely susceptible to being converted into NPCs, and thus had to be moved out of the way and treated before a Shadow can get to them. For one, Shadows tend to ignore fallen SSS2 members, almost like how a hunter ignores the dead and goes hunting for live prey. But then again, i'm sure everyone doesn't want to just shoot themselves in the head during the Shadow Hour. I wouldn't.

"We don't have any activities like a rock band, though. We would have to think of something else."

Tanaka Goutarou, a rather large guy though he seems to be more articulate than he first appears to be. According to Yuki, he is able to discern who is an NPC and who is a human soul just by looking at them. That seems rather amazing, in my opinion, but what seems to be even more surprising is that for a man of his size, he doesn't seem to do any form of exercise. He used to do judo, but apparently quit after an injury to his back. His hobbies include drinking tea, playing shougi, and apparently talking about himself (seeing as how it has only been three days since i got here and i already know so much about him). About what Tanaka said, the previous SSS had created a diversion group as well, an all female rock band called 'Girls Dead Monster', or 'Garudemo/GiDeMo' (Garuzu dedo monsuta) for short. They used the diversion group to draw the attention of the NPCs away from the other things that the SSS would do. The leader of the band was a girl named Iwasawa Asami, and she was the one who wrote most of the songs for the band to play. Within the SSS2, there wasn't anyone like that. Unfortunately.

"How about have some fireworks?"

"We aren't doing a carnival."

"Clowns?"

"What are you thinking, a circus?"

"I want to have a popcorn feast!"

"You just shut up and sit by the corner!"

The number of people in this room shouting ideas wasn't really helping. And where the heck did they appear from? Wasn't this room just filled with six people? Where did the additional ten appear from?

"We can decide on a later date when the leaders gather to discuss."

Yuki announced, silencing the room. She then turned to me, gesturing me to follow. Yuki led me out of the principal's office and down the hallway.

"It's about time we get you a weapon. Since you've more or less gotten used to this World."

Yuki explained as she led me towards the tunnel. Hidden behind the stairwell was a door, and behind the door was the tunnel that led towards Guild. I had never been through the tunnels before, so i was caught rather unprepared to face whatever was in there. I had read the reports in the SSS logs about how the Guild had set up tons of traps in order to protect their main source of weapons production.

"Don't worry about getting there. We had most of the traps deactivated a long time ago. Of course, we added additional security at every entrance and quick alarm systems that would reactivate all traps the moment an enemy is detected within the tunnels."

Yuki seemed to have read my worries. It seemed that Yuki is also in-charge of all of the newcomers besides being in-charge of the Principal's office base, explaining to them about the World, about their group and giving them the option to fight or to pass on. You could also say that she is the one who trains the newcomers to become stronger fighters. Just who is she exactly?

"Since it is getting dark, wouldn't the chances of an enemy appearing be higher?"

I ask, not all too enthusiastic about charging straight first into a death hole.

"Tonight is when we're planning to send out our entire division team. During the past few battles our assault groups suffered many injuries, and so this is mainly to prevent the Shadows from attacking our medical group while they patch up and protect the injured."

"I see."

"Come to think of it, you're pretty good with bandages. Maybe you should be transferred to the medical group."

Yuki suggested as we made a few turns. The long tunnels did not seem to offer a lot of safety, knowing that each step i take could literally activate a trap is a Shadow were detected in the tunnels.

"I don't think i would fit in well. I only know emergency treatment and..."

"And?"

"... I'm not too good with blood."

"... I see."

Yuki did not seem all too surprised about me not liking blood yet able to treat wounds.

"You're not going to ask?"

"What is there to ask? I know there are times when people force themselves to do things they hate. We all do it. Besides, i bet you can't remember why. Well, if anything, you'll probably be staying with me for quite some time."

Well, that's seems like a lot of fun. The way to Guild last for another ten minutes or so, and we passed by many other students who were using the tunnels as their sleeping quarters, storage of supplies and general living quarters. Several students saluted Yuki as she walked by. This really was some sort of military hierarchy. And why does this entire scene remind me of a war film?

"Aren't these people afraid of the traps if a Shadow enters?"

I ask, seeing as how these students were just carrying on their their activities without a care.

"For one, we never place our people in the sections where the traps are at. And also, for most of us, dying from a trap is much better than becoming an NPC."

"I see."

Quite an extremist way of thinking, but i guess i would do that too. Maybe.

"We're here."

Yuki announced as we stepped into a large room that had large fire ovens by the side. People wearing work overalls were moving to and fro, moving materials around and preparing a whole mountain of ammunition and weapons.

"Ah, there she is, Himura-chan!"

Yuki waved over to a person over by one end who was talking with several other technicians. The person noticed Yuki and waved back, giving some last instructions to the others before making her way to Yuki. The person, girl, was a surprise to see in a dirty and hands-on place. Her hair tied into a tail and covered with a large hat with goggles dangling around her neck. She had a whole belt of tools dangling loosely off her hip and she had a distinct smell of gun powder off her.

"Yo, Yuki-chii. It's rare to see you down here. Ah, someone new?"

"Yes, this is Kurogane. Our newest member."

I bowed slightly when i was introduced. Himura just laughed and stuck out her hand to shake instead. It should be noted that she is shorter than me.

"No need to be so formal around here. I'm Himura Yuuko, many call me 'boss' around here. Well, ever since i organized this bunch of brainless monkeys into a working order, i got naturally placed with the title."

"Ha..."

I have no idea how to comment on that. And apparently neither does Yuki.

"Well, i guess i should explain a bit about Guild, or as we call it, 'the burn'. When we first discovered this place, it was a complete mess, most likely an aftermath of the battle the previous SSS had with the Shadows. We managed to take the logs and find out how they created weapons. We can basically create anything from mere dirt as long as we have our 'memories'."

"Memories?"

"If i had to say it... we must be able to remember its structure, its form and how it can perform. So basically we cannot create something if we didn't remember about it before. No imaginary stuff."

"I see."

"The previous SSS tried to create a large rail-car cannon, but it exploded in their face. We also tried to create a large cannon once, but it too exploded. Sent twelve of my guys straight to the infirmary."

Yuuko laughed out loudly as though it was an extremely funny incident. Well, since they can't die, i guess it would be pretty funny.

"Anyway, using the previous SSS logs, we can create the weapons they used and we have several workers here who specialize in creating new objects."

"I heard that there was another Guild?"

"Yes, but it was destroyed long before we came here. By the looks of things, it seemed as though they self-destructed it, probably to prevent it from falling into the hands of their enemies. That larger Guild was used more as an industrial factory than a craftsman's shop. That place focused on producing quantity instead of quality, so it was better for us to use that Guild to equip an army like ours. We're currently having seventy of our guys over there working on the reconstruction. Even though we're reconstructing it, we're still using this old one for our main production line. Here, we focus on creating unique individual weapons suited for each user."

"That's a rather unusual approach to equipping an army."

It doesn't seem to make sense to individualize each member with such a large group. Perhaps following the previous SSS way was better.

"While it is true that it is more efficient, it is by no means better. If you give a child a huge cannon, that child probably wouldn't be able to use it. Same goes for the individual. Well... even when we say we customize them to the individual, it is more like finding which weapon in our stockpile suits you the most."

"Oh, i see."

"Hmm... well, i'll get you a fitter. Erm... ah, Gen! Over here!"

Yuuko waved over to a technician, who walked over. The young skinny man had his bangs covering his right eye and had a lot of dirt on his face and overalls. And for his build, you wouldn't think of him as a factory type of guy. More like a weak study student.

"Help this newcomer for outfitting. Kurogane, this is Shotoku Gen. He's one of our best technicians and has a special ability to create things from mere description even if he doesn't hold the memories. Well, more like he makes it more realistic, so no over the top things. Gen, can you get this done as fast as possible? We don't want to miss out on the Shadow Hour."

"Alright, boss. This way please."

Gen led me to one side, and though i was slightly hesitant, i followed. Yuuko and Yuki seemed to have lots to discuss anyway. Walking over to the side, Gen led me through a door to the back of Guild. Inside were a lage array of weapons, ranging from melee swords, knives, spears, halberds, to guns. Rifles, pistols, machine guns and even an RPG.

"Let me see... Hmmm."

Gen seemed to just stare at me. I felt pretty odd about this.

"Don't mind me. We 'sculptors' are taught to see what would suit an individual the most. Of course, we also ask for personal input."

Gen explained as he turned and looked through the large variety of weapons.

"You look pretty strong, but you lack... a definite form. It is almost like you can use every weapon in this room. We'll start you off with something simple."

He placed a single pistol and a knife on the table.

"This is a STI Edge, using .45ACP. This is a normal combat knife."

Simple, huh. I don't think i defend myself well with only a pistol and knife.

"Here are some magazines. Once you get used to it, come back and i'll see what else i can outfit you with."

Gen explained.

"Ah, Himura-san said before, that you can create things that are merely described and not using your own memories. How is that possible?"

"That? It's simple. If you bring me a drawing of a weapon, i can look over it and imagine its dimensions and weight issues. Calculating all of the specs doesn't take much."

"So not so much as a description, but a drawing?"

"Describing also works, but for us sculptors, we work best when we have a visual image to create things from."

That did seem possible.

"You can ask around and get some ideas from other people. There was a time when someone came up with an idea for a weapon after watching some of his comrades fight the Shadows. Ideas can come to anyone, but it is up to us sculptors to make them realistic and possible, so try not to overdo it."

"I-... i see. Ah, do i need to pay for this?"

I ask, looking at the pistol and the knife. These guys surely need something in return for their work. Otherwise, how else can they keep going? Survival against the Shadows may be a given, but there would be another sort of payment.

"We're the ones outfitting you guys, so normally we shouldn't be getting anything but protection. Still, the Boss was saying that we should get meal tickets in return, saying something like how it makes this 'more like a role playing game', or something. One meal ticket would be equivalent to five magazines, or one pistol or knife. Anything larger would require more meal tickets. There is also 'essence' and 'dirt'."

"'Essence' and 'dirt'? Aren't we surrounded by those?"

"Not in the normal sense. 'Essence' is like a living force. When you defeat Shadows, you can see how the Shadow dissolves into small particles before disappearing. That is called 'dark essence'. Normally touching with bare skin with such essence would result in it swallowing you and turning you into NPCs, but what we discovered is that a Shadow would also drop a different type of essence, be it red, blue, green or white. These essences are safe to touch, and we need them to create more unique weapons that isn't found in our memories. By the way, the previous SSS had several members who were able to punch and even do judo throws with the Shadows, so some people do have immunity to the dark essence."

"And dirt?"

"Well, normally dirt gives us a normal quality. Most sculptors aren't satisfied with that. From time to time, you can see a special kind of dirt, mainly around places where battles had occurred recently. Perhaps it is also because of the essences. But using special dirt, we can make superior weapons."

Well, that makes sense. I guess i was kind of stupid to ask.

"This pistol, knife and magazines are on me since you're new. Next time though, you might want to bring some meal tickets, or dirt and essences."

"Alright... thanks."

Gen led me back out of the small room and i joined back with Yuuko and Yuki, who had apparently finished their discussion.

"All done? Good. We're needed back at base. Sorry, but you'll need to learn how to fight out on the field. The Shadow Hour has begun."

* * *

A/N: Just like Maeda Jun's references to Persona 4 in the series, i have also placed references to Persona 3 in this chapter. The first being 'Shadow Hour'. The second is an off-hand thought by Kurogane about how putting a gun to their head would seem painful.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This chapters introduces extremely familiar names and faces to Key fans. More to come!

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 5_

_First Blood_

Pulling back the slide to chamber the first round, i was rather surprised at how this gun felt familiar and just right in my grip. Logically speaking, a young student like myself should not be feeling so familiar with such weapons, but it was a rather exciting feeling at the same time. Placing the pistol back into the holster by my hip, i pulled out the combat knife, checking its edge. It was rather well made, sharp and balanced. Thrusting it a few times to check its effectiveness, i found that it wasn't too heavy for me, nor too light.

"So? How does it feel?"

Yuki asked. I kept the blade in its holder strapped to my thigh, tapping my boot to make sure the knife doesn't fall out.

"Quite well. Though i didn't know that holding a gun would be so..."

"So familiar?"

"... Yes."

"There are times when a human being is able to adapt quickly to their surrounding in order to survive. Though i have to say that i'm rather surprised at your speed at adapting. I have yet to see another person like you who can figure out the workings of a gun they have never held before within a minute. Perhaps you held a gun in your previous life?"

I had to laugh at though, even if it was a weak laugh.

"No way, i'm just a regular student."

"... Well, besides that, Shotoku-kun is one of the best fitters we have. You're lucky to have him outift you."

Speaking of the fitter, i had wondered about something of that fitter Gen.

"Shotoku-san said something about sculptors being taught to... 'see' what the individuals is suited to use? What does that mean?"

Yuki rubbed her chin for the moment, before taking out her pistol. It was a smaller gun than mine and had obvious signs of wear on its surface. How long had she used this gun?

"This is my very first gun. A Walther PP. Though i have two other pistols, a beretta 92 and a Tokarev TT-33. Back then, this Walther PP was what i used to protect myself against the Shadows and during those dark times, we lost many members. We didn't have the right equipments, didn't have the right tools or knowledge. All we did was fight for our lives. A lot of my friend died because they weren't used to the weapons they held. Jams, rust build up, misfires, not being balanced, there were multiple problems. Then came Yuuko. She was the daughter of a weapons technician with the JSDF who worked on tanks, guns, and anything in the JSDF that was a weapon. As such, Yuuko knew all about how each person would be different when handling weapons."

"But wouldn't armies normally standardize their distribution of weapons?"

"Yes, in order to cut costs and time producing such individualized weapons. But in this world, we do not need to worry about costs, since we can make weapons from dirt, and making such weapons would only take us half an hour. As such, we can focus on getting each active member to their best fighting form. Of course, you can train yourself to use other weapons that you normally wouldn't be suited to, but that takes practice time and experience, something that we do not have, unlike the normal armies. We also lack the training regimes necessary to get our members to become efficient soldiers. The most we can do is find the weapon that they are most suited to use, and send out the best into the field."

Desperate times call for desperate measures, huh. I can see her logic, and it was true that certain weapons would be more suited for certain people. I couldn't really imagine myself using a rocket launcher right from the get-go anyway.

"Erm... Shotoku-san said that i didn't have a definite form... do you know what he meant by that?"

"Definite form? I guess since he is a sculptor, he must be talking about what sort of weapon set you would be suited for. Most people are suited for a certain type of weapon set. Take me for example. I can use most sub machine guns and assault rifles, but i can only use one type of sniper gun, this guy."

Yuki took out the sniper rifle i saw her carry the first time we met. It was long and menacing.

"This is a M40 rifle, bolt action sniper rifle that has good accuracy and a lot of kick. But not as much as some of the guns the other people in our sniper squads use."

"Sniper squad?"

"Our assault division has many squads, and snipers are simply one portion of the entire division. Heading our sniping groups is Ryusei Suo. She may seem emotionless at first, but she is quite a character. Anyway, if you see Suo, you'll understand that some people can use certain weapons while others can't, even when they have the same body type."

I wanted to ask what she meant by that, but a suddenly loud explosion from outside the building caught both of our attention. Rushing over to the window, i peered out to see what was going on. A group of students were in the middle of the track field surrounded by a lot of Shadows, and it looked as though they were fighting quite desperately to hold the enemy back.

"It's time. Let's go, Kurogane."

"A-ah."

I pull out my STI Edge and turned off the safety. Following Yuki as she ran through the hallway of the principal building, the students stationed here started to follow her as she passed them. It was unmistakeable that Yuki was the leader here. Everyone here followed her without a word, each armed with various weapons of their own style and choosing. We all headed out of the building without a word muttered between us, and the moment we were out, the entire group of students fanned out. Forming a line, the SSS2 members marched forward, guns loaded and trained at the Shadows. Yuki pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"Camelot to Eagle eye, target in sight and preparing to begin Operation 'Dark Sweep'. Over."

It didn't take long for a reply to come through.

'"Eagle eye to Camelot, we see them and await signal. Over."'

"Camelot to Rabbit one. We are in position. Prepare to escape from encirclement. Over."

'"Rabbit one to Camelot, we're ready to get out of this mess anytime. Over."'

Yuki looked to the members of the line and nodded to them.

"... FIRE!"

All of the members of the line opened fire, shooting whatever weapons were in their hands at the enemy. Loud gunshots could also be heard from rooftops of nearby buildings, probably from the sniper squads that Yuki was talking about. Gunners manning machine gun nests at the windows of the principal building also opened fire, raining lead down on the Shadows who began to disintegrate under the large barrage of fire. I emptied my first clip into a Shadow, changing the magazine quickly before picking my next target.

"Kurogane! Get down!"

Imagawa's voice made me instinctively duck. I did not know had happened, but i heard more gunshots and i saw a sword being drawn.

"Are you alright?"

Imagawa offered his hand to me. He had an assault rifle in one hand and a katana in another.

"... Ah, thanks."

I got back to my feet and looked at what was left of a Shadow that was just inches away from me.

"You have to watch your back. Not everyone can cover for you all the time."

"Yeah, i'll keep that in mind."

* * *

The entire fight was over within a matter of minutes, but when you actually stand in the fight those mere minutes would seem like hours. Each second amplified into a minute, each minute blown into an hour. I fell down on my butt in a rather ungraceful manner, though i could hardly care by now. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Although we held the upper hand with superior numbers, the Shadows were still extremely tough to defeat. Each Shadow could take a full magazine from an assault rifle and still rush out to grab one of the SSS2 members. That very member was currently lying on the floor, screaming out in pain as others tried to restrain him.

A half-way, that's what they call it when a SSS2 member gets converted into an NPC halfway through. After he was grabbed, Yuki pulled out a machete and cut off the Shadow's arm that held the student. As for where she pulled that out from, i didn't know nor did i want to ask. I watch as several SSS2 members from the medical group rushed over. I did not know what sort of treatment they would use to treat a Half-way, but maybe it had to do something with that syringe that that medic is holding. However what i did not expect was when the medic injected whatever was in that syringe into the student, the student began to scream even louder than before, his trashing was more violent and it was extremely painful to watch. Horrifying to be exact.

"We do not have an exact cure for Half-ways. It all rest on the individual."

Yuki explained, slinging her rifle over her shoulder.

"So what is that syringe for?"

"... To add pain."

What? Did i hear that correctly. I look up to Yuki, and it did not look like she was joking. Far from it. I could see pain, anger, frustration in her eyes. Her fists clenched up so tight that her nails dug into the flesh of her palms and drew blood.

"What happens during a Half-way can only be described as a mental battle of attrition. Those affected would have to constantly fight the conversion process with sheer will power and determination. It a process not many go through and before this method, it was also a conversion that many failed to return from."

I drew out another bad memory for Yuki.

"It was discovered by one of our guys that pain was useful in making those going through the conversion to focus back on reality. Keeps them from losing consciousness and losing completely to the conversion process."

"Not exactly the best idea?"

"No... But it's all we have."

Yuki closed her eyes, not wanting to watch the painful scene anymore than she had to. She turned around, heading back to the base. I still sat there, on the track field watching the student scream out even more. By now most of the other members of the operation left the field to head back and rest. Several others still stayed around, of them i noticed one of the medics carrying a small back pack with white wings attached. Pretty odd accessory to have. The medic noticed me and came running. The young girl ran almost halfway before she tripped over seemingly nothing and fell face first into the ground.

"Uguu!"

"... 'Uguu'?"

What a strange thing to say when you fall down. Then again what are you suppose to say when you fall? Ouch? The small medic sat up, rubbing her nose before getting back to her feet and finally making it to me. She had slightly longer than shoulder length orange hair, and her sparkling eyes were somewhat too glaring to look straight into. What was up with those extremely innocent eyes?

"Are you injured?"

She asked. Injured? Was that why she came to me?

"Ah... no. I'm just tired. This was my very first battle."

"Hmm, i see. Well, you need to get used to it soon if you're going to be on the front lines."

I figured that much. I had seen the other members fight in the field from the safety of the principal's office and i knew it was something i would have to face. To be honest, i didn't think i was fully prepared for it. I look at my pistol, ejecting the empty magazine and turning the safety off. The first Shadow Hour was over and by my estimations the SSS2 suffered three injuries from the diversion team, 'Rabbit one', and one Half-way. I wouldn't think Yuki would call this a victory. I got up to my feet, dusting my uniform of the dirt. At that moment my stomach decided to give out a rather loud growl, making me slightly red in the face. Why out of all times now? However the medic simply giggled.

"I guess you're a little too relaxed now after the battle. Why not go to the cafeteria? I'm sure you can find something there that would suit you. Or... you could try this!"

The medic pulled out from her small bag a jar of orange... glowing goo? What the hell is that? Radioactive goo? Why is it glowing? It's literally emitting its own light! The moment some of the other members left on the field saw that jar, they immediately retreated twenty steps. I'm guessing whatever is in that jar, it is extremely dangerous.

"Erm... wha-what is that?"

"This? Why, jam of course!"

Jam? That? That is by no means jam! That must be some sort of alien waste product, or some sort of radioactive material. It can't be jam! Jam doesn't glow!

"Want to try some? It's delicious! Especially with Taiyaki!"

The medic's extremely innocent eyes seemed to hide a rather dark inner self. Or more like she did not know its own taste. Was her sense of taste dead? Or would she just eat just about anything and everything? And since when could you have jam with Taiyaki? That doesn't make any sense! Every single alarm in my body was going off at the same time. I really shouldn't be touching that.

"Ah... no, i'll have to refrain myself from that. I think i'll go to the cafeteria instead."

I quickly turned around and ran off in the direction, not before hearing another 'Uguu'. Seriously, what is with that and that jam?

* * *

The cafeteria was an entire building in itself with three whole floors of tables and chairs. I have no idea who designed this place, but having such a large cafeteria really wasn't such practical thing. I step into the large hall, noticing the large number of 'model' students, also known as NPCs. There were quite a number of SSS2 members around as well, but surely far less than what i expected. Where were the other members? I walk over to the ticket machine, looking through the entire menu. Hm? I notice a certain icon near the bottom. Mabo Tofu? Sounds rather delicious. I have a strange urge to eat some chinese. I wonder if i should try it-

"I wouldn't touch that if i were you."

I turn around, and saw a young girl in the SSS2 uniform. Her long lavender hair with a white ribbon tied around one of her long sides.

"Why wouldn't want to touch it?"

I had to ask.

"Well, for one, it is the legendary 'super spicy Mabo Tofu'. No one eats it, ever. Not even the NPCs would eat it with rice."

"Huh? It doesn't come with rice?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, before smiling a little.

"That's the first thing you ask about it? You're a strange one. I'm Kyou. Fujibayashi Kyou, but you can just call me Kyou."

She extended out a hand, which i took.

"Ah, i'm-"

"You're the newcomer, Kurogane. I was part of the assault team just now. You fight pretty well for a newcomer, though Jin sure had to cover your back a couple of times."

I don't need reminders of that. Imagawa was insulting me throughout the entire battle about how i never watch my own back.

"I notice that there aren't a lot of members here to eat."

I changed the topic to get the mood to change.

"Ah, well most of the guys tend to stay down to continue with their work, since Shadows don't rest. As it is up to us assault groups to actually face the dangers head-on, we need to relax and eat in some other place than a dark tunnel."

"Do they cook their own food down below?"

"Ha! they wish. But the truth is that you can't make food out from dirt. Even if you could, i don't think you would even want to eat it, no matter how hungry you are. No, they get runners and maybe some members of the assault team to grab food for them. Of course they do come out of their tunnels every now and then for some fresh air and relaxation. During those times they also come to eat in the cafeteria."

"... I see."

It was a rather odd system that this SSS2 had. Rather, why did they need to have runners in the first place?

"Well, try to survive long enough. We're lacking manpower for the front-lines, and the battles don't get any easier."

Kyou smiled.

"Kyou! Are you coming?"

A voice shouted for the girl, who turned and shouted back.

"I'll be right there! Grab me a seat, Tomoyo! Well, i'm off. Oh yes, i recommend the niku-udon. It's actually pretty good."

With that, Kyou left to join her friend. I turned back to the machine, feeling that i've been meeting a lot of weird people recently. I pressed on the niku-udon icon and a ticket was dispensed. Picking up the coupon, i went to the counter and placed my order. The wait wasn't long and soon i was carrying a hot bowl of udon with slices of meat over it. Smelt good, better than that radioactive jam. As i looked for a seat, i saw a familiar person sitting by herself. Yuki. The leader of the fort was poking her plate of curry absent mindedly, mixing up all of the roux with the rice to create one large uniformed pile of curry rice. By the looks of it, she hadn't touch her food at all.

"Mind if i join you?"

I ask once i reached the table. Yuki looked up, a certainly distant look in her eyes.

"... Sure."

Her voice was half-hearted and weak. I'm guessing the battle took more out of her than the rest. Was it because she was a leader? I guess leaders have their own problems. I pulled out a seat and placed my food tray on the table before taking a seat myself.

"Itadakimasu."

I quietly said, snapping the chopsticks apart. Trying the soup stock, i found it extremely delicious. It really was good. Too good to be normal.

"So? How did your first battle feel?"

Yuki asked, still poking and stirring her meal into a completely unrecognisable dish.

"To be honest, i feel slightly... light headed."

Yuki smiled a little, nodding her head in agreement.

"That's to be expected. None of us were trained to fight from the beginning. We're simply trying to survive. But with this, you're officially part of the SSS2."

Part of the group, huh? It felt slightly odd, as though there was a slight pain in my chest.

"Even though i can say that... i feel as though it is nothing more than a death sentence."

Yuki sighed, dropping her spoon.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing good comes out of fighting. We've been fighting for years now, maybe even a decade. And what have we gained? Casualties and more casualties. We lost two members of the diversion squad to the Shadows. Three members dead, five injured and one half-way. Even though the dead will eventually recover, the injure will heal and the half-way looks to be coming back to us, it is still painful to bear this."

"..."

"I'm no leader. Never was. And yet these guys still look to me, expecting that i can bring them some miracle."

So this is the real face of the fort leader. A frail young girl who wasn't meant to be here. Then again, were any of us meant to be here?

"So why not pass on?"

"... Apparently you weren't paying attention before. Most of us are afraid of what lies beyond. We are afraid of losing our memories, our lives. But... i guess that isn't the whole truth."

The whole truth? What did that mean? Yuki saw how i was confused, so she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

"Want to hear an interesting story?"

"Doesn't look like i have a choice."

She smiled a little.

"No, not likely. Let's just say that once there was a girl. She lived a relatively content life. Parents, friends, a comfortable life. But then all of a sudden all of that was taken away from her. A deadly disease spread across the town, killing almost everyone. Within one week, half of the town was dead. The girl was forced to watch as people she loved died slowly and painfully before their eyes. This girl, now left all alone, began to question why. Why did all of this had to happen? What did she do to deserve such a cruel fate? And soon, she began to curse her own life. Her hatred for everything grew. She would never forgive the one person who could have changed all of it. If he existed."

Yuki finished her story, and i took a while to let it all sink in. It was quite a wild story, but somehow i could not make myself doubt it. I could see it in her eyes. The sadness, the darkness that she held. So that was her life. The reason why she stayed. She was like the previous members of the SSS. She hated God for suddenly taking away everything she had. She hated her own life. Maybe it was because she hated her old life that she refused to pass on. Hatred was what kept her lingering on. Sounds like some ghost story. Perhaps this was the case for everyone here. They hated God, they hated their old lives. They wanted a second chance. Maybe that was what this World was for as well. To let everyone live out a second life, to let them correct what they knew went wrong.

"Well, that is only a story."

Yuki said, staring once again off into space.

"I... see..."

Yuki suddenly stood up, grabbing her plate of untouched food.

"We're short of people in many departments. So tomorrow i'll get you to join the relief division. They're a group who goes around the different divisions to lend a hand, in other words they're a jack-of-all trades group. It'll be a good way to see how each group operates and let's you get more experience in the field. You can also see which division you're best suited for. You'll report to Kyousuke tomorrow. He may be a little impulsive and eccentric, but he's a good fellow. Good luck."


	6. Chapter 6

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 6_

_Little Busters_

Impulsive and Eccentric. With only two words of warning to describe the leader of the relief squad, i had to admit that i feel somewhat worried. The next morning i left the principal's office and the couch that i had called my bed for four nights. I left the building, saying a few goodbyes to some of the fort defenders that i made friends with, and headed straight to the main school building. The relief division was based in an empty classroom on the third floor, and i wasn't feeling all that confident as i walked in the main school building for the very first time. A whole lot of NPCs were just walking around, going about their normal lives without even acknowledging my presence.

Perhaps it was because i haven't talked to them, or attended any class. But just imagining that these NPCs could suddenly become Shadows made me slightly nervous. Only slightly, because i also knew that these NPCs were also possibly returned back to normal after we defeated them when they were still as Shadows. I'm probably thinking too much. I head off to a vending machine, getting myself a can of 'Key' coffee. As i opened my can, i noticed a small head, poking itself from around the corner of a pillar. I normally wouldn't bother to notice, but this... head, seemed to be staring quite intently at me. Was that a cat? I look down to my can. Was this what that person wanted? Why not come over here to get it? I scratch my head as i tried to understand this strange situation. Ah crap, nothing's coming to mind. Nevermind. I decided to walk over to that pillar, and it wasn't till i was standing right next to the pillar that that person realize i was there.

"NYAA!"

This... girl, retreated immediately and started to hiss at me like a cat. Cute. The small sized girl had long brown hair tied in a tail, and her red eyes staring down at me like i'm the enemy of the World. What exactly did i do?

"... You wanted something from me?"

I ask, taking a sip from my canned coffee. The girl narrowed her eyes at my can, still taking up her defensive stance. She was clearly a member of the SSS2 with her uniform. And since i'm wearing the same thing as her, how does that make me the enemy?

"... You want this?"

I raise my canned coffee and notice her gaze following the can. Ah, so she does want this.

"... I'll treat you, come on."

I turn around and walk back to the vending machine, buying another can. I turned around and saw that the girl still had not moved from that pillar. I walk over to her and toss her the can.

"Here."

She caught it, staring at it with some joy, but she still kept her distance.

"Rin! Ah, there you are!"

I looked up to see a young boy running over.

"Riki!"

The girl ran over to the boy and immediately used him as cover. What am i, a grenade?

"Aha ha ha. Sorry about that. She's very shy around strangers."

The boy explained. Well, obviously she's shy. Why else would she retreat and treat me like an enemy? But does she act like a cat?

"You must be the newcomer. Kyousuke told us that you might be coming. Ah, I'm Naoe Riki. Yoroshiku. (Pleased to meet you)"

"Ah, i'm Kurogane, kochirakosou, yoroshiku. (I'm pleased to meet you as well)"

"I'll lead you to the room."

The boy named Riki led me up the stairs all the way to the third floor and towards the end of the hallway. Riki opened the door and stepped in.

"Kyousuke, the newcomer is here."

Riki announced, letting me step into the room as well. The first thing i noticed about the room was how disorganized everything was. Books, weapons, empty cans of coffee, rockets, complex mechanical things both big and small, and other odd things. Another thing i noticed was how much of these things there were. Mountains of them. I didn't even know what half of them were used for. There were six others in the room, all sitting around doing their own things. The leader, probably, approached me. He was tall, that was the one thing i notice.

"Hey there, i'm Natsume Kyousuke, leader of the relief division called 'Little Busters'. I see you've met my sister, Rin."

"Your sister?"

I turn to Rin, who had run off to one corner of the room.

"Ah... she's always like that. Either she runs off from strangers, or she beats them up. Consider yourself lucky."

This Kyousuke fellow just said that a little too easily. Isn't her behaviour normally considered dangerous?

"Well, not much time for introductions, we've got to aid the diversion division. They're preparing for this afternoon's classes and after last night's operation, they're down a couple of guys. So we're going in to lend them a hand. Let's go."

* * *

Kyousuke led the relief division, the group calling themselves 'Little Busters' to the first floor where we met up with the diversion division who would be doing the operation they called 'Operation: Blind Man'. Not exactly a very unique name. More like, what sort of name for an operation is that anyway? Kyousuke walked up to the leader of the diversion squad assigned for this operation. A young man with a rather easy-going look about him.

"Ah, Kyousuke, glad you could join us."

He patted Kyousuke on the back when they met.

"You call, we answer. So what's the operation?"

"The usual. Keep the public morals committee and the student council away from the intelligence division while they head into the staff room. There is also last night's operation. It caused quite a commotion with the student council so this is mainly to cool their heads a little. Still, we would need people who can run and fight just in case."

Kyousuke nodded and turned back to the rest of the Little Busters.

"You guys heard Tetsuya. Riki, you're in-charge of this mission. I'll leave it up to you to choose the members."

"E-eh? Me?"

Kyousuke nodded with a smile. It was clear that Riki didn't want to be in-charge.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine. Alright, Kengo, Kurugaya-san, i need the two of you for another operation. With Masato out on another mission, i'll require you two to help with this one."

A tall guy in a kendo hakama and a tall girl with long black hair both nodded and followed Kyousuke. I look back to Riki, who looked like he was going to have a nervous break-down.

"Don't worry about Riki-kun. He can pull through when he has to. Besides, Kyousuke had been training Riki to take command for a long time. This is just another test."

A girl with a light pinkish purple hair told me. Her hair was tied into a tail on the side, and her blue eyes were sparkling with mischief. My senses were telling me that she was a very bad idea to stick around with. A very dangerous person.

"Erm... alright. For this operation, i'll have Rin, Haruka, Kudo, and Kurogane."

Riki selected his members for this operation. I noticed that this Little Busters group had a lot of girls in it. Tetsuya walked up to Riki with a smile that one would give as a proud parent to a child who did well in school. I know Riki may be meek looking and rather weak, but is there a need to go that far?

"Riki-kun, all done? Alright... still, quite a lot of girls. Sigh, can't be helped. Most guys want to run off to the assault division, or help with Guild. We'll be taking classes from the afternoon till the end. Remember all of you, do not take the classes seriously. If you do, you'll disappear. If a student council member or a public morals member approaches you, get yourselves out of there fast."

Public morals? Student council? They were NPCs, right? What could they do?

"The public morals and student council are two groups that have the authority to stop our activities. They have special jail houses to put us in and it leaves the rest of the SSS2 members vulnerable to attacks."

Another girl explained to me. Probably because i look so lost at the moment. She had short blue hair, and seemed to be more focused on reading a book.

"... Thanks, i guess."

"Hmm."

Without another word, the girl walked off. Whoever she was, she seemed really unsociable.

"Don't mind Mio, she's always like that. Anyway, i'm Haruka. Pleased to meet you, Kurogane."

The pinkish purple haired girl smiled.

"Ah... likewise."

* * *

Class was... well, boring. I really didn't know what was going on, to be honest. The entire diversion division was spread out across three classes. I was with the Little Busters, so the five of us were in the same class, which just so happened to be World history, probably one of the most boring subjects ever invented. Sitting in this chair, i had a strange feeling of nostalgia. Well, i was a student, that much should be certain even with my amnesia. I have no idea where they get these notebooks and textbooks, but the Little Busters and the diversion division sure had all of the items required for the class. The teacher's droning was making me drowsy, so i had no fear of actually taking this class seriously enough to pass on. The others, however, were employing some rather... unusual methods.

Riki was playing around with his pencils, and who knows what the hell he was doing with them. Rin was poking a small cat toy she had brought along, poking at it constantly with an ecstatic smile on her face. As for Haruka, the bubbly girl was literally bouncing her seat. Literally. Damn, just what sort of sugar high was she on? Seeing her bounce up and down in her seat just makes me even more tired. I'm getting tired for her. The last member of the Little Busters Diversion group is a girl called Kudo. She seems to be a mixed race with her long silky white hair and childish appearance. She also had a white cloak and white hat that weren't part of the SSS2 uniform, so i assume that must be custom made. She looks quite young to be in this level of class, but then again what class we take at which level is irrelevant in this world. Kudo seemed to be fidgeting with her hands with something.

Whatever she was doing, i didn't feel like i needed to know what it was. For some odd reason, i could hear explosions from the next class. Just what the heck were they doing over there? Ah, dammit, i'm getting drowsy. My eyelids were too heavy to keep open and slowly i slipped away to the dark embrace of sleep.

* * *

A/N: Those who recognize Little Busters and the others, congratulations, you're at least an above average Key fan. There are other Key productions, mainly Maeda Jun's productions but i'll still call them Key, so keep a look out for them.

As i said before, those who want to add their own characters, feel free to send me a mail or message. Reviews are useful too!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N:Sorry for the delay, i had midterms and more essays to write... damn these summer courses. I really hate University's summer courses (even though i've already gone through five years of the same cycle, it never fails to grate my nerves)

Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed! I'm so happy that i'm not alone in my feelings about Angel Beats! the anime! Yes, i am still accepting original characters all the way until the end of this story. I have already discussed this with several people and i got an overall positive approval to go ahead with my current plans for this story. This fic is only the first half of my entire planned story. So i will be accepting your characters all the way until the end of this first half.

Something i noticed about people sending me their ideas for characters is that people who submit ideas for male characters all want the same thing. They all want their guys to be cool, calm, great leaders etc. You know what? That's boring. Throw in something else! Well, so far the male characters i have received also have slight traits that make them different. But i have to increase that trait by a lot in order to make them stand out. If not i'll have an entire army of clones. Well i guess i understand since everyone designs their characters to be like the main guy of some galge (girl-dating-simulation-game), so they would all be similar... sigh, this is why i don't like drawing and writing about guys despite being a guy myself. Too similar.

Another thing that people ask me is to put their characters as one of the leaders. I did say that there are 5 leaders in total, of which three have been revealed. Yuki is the leader of Fort, the main base, Yuuko is the leader of Guild, the factory and tunnel networks, and Tetsuya is the leader of the Diversion division. There is still the assault division and the intelligence division (the relief division is under Fort, so Little Busters is working under Yuki). I have two people wanting their characters to be the leaders, and since they asked first, i'll let their characters be the leaders. But don't be discouraged! I am a very flexible writer. This A/N is getting long enough, but i think it is important to get all of this out of the way.

* * *

Structure of SSS2

5 main divisions:  
-Assault (leader: Ein Shrewerz)  
-Fort (leader: Taeno Yuki)  
-Guild (leader: Himura Yuuko)  
-Diversion (leader: Tetsuya)  
-Intelligence (leader: Tatsume Kenji) (note to Niker who wanted his character, i had to change your character's surname since Kyousuke and Rin from the Little Busters already have that surname, if you have another name in mind, please tell me before your character appears in later chapters)

Each division has separate squads that specialize in different areas (the Five leaders are not the squad leaders, but overall leaders)

Assault:  
-Frontlines; infantry (leader: Fujibayashi Kyou)  
-Snipers (leader: Ryusei Suou)  
-Heavy weapons (unknown)

Fort:  
-Base; main defense (unknown)  
-Strategy (leader: Minami Shino)  
-Relief; do-anything squad (leader: Natsume Kyousuke)  
-Medics (leader: Tsukimiya Ayu)

Guild:  
-Fitters (leader: Shotoku Gen)  
-Runners; suppliers (unknown)  
-Experimenters; test out new weapons and also head out into field as reinforcements though no one really trusts them since they often bring out their new weapons to test in the field (unknown)  
-Builders; focus on mass production rather than quality and also responsible for rebuilding Guild (unknown)

Diversion:  
-Class; attends classes (unknown)  
-Clubs; creates club activities (unknown)  
-Feint; attracts Shadows (unknown)

Intelligence:  
-Searchers; gather intelligence (unknown)  
-analyzers (unknown)  
-Communications (leader: Kamio Misuzu)

Other squads will be added as story goes on. Two squad leaders aren't really suited for the job... can you guess which two?

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 7_

_Shine Days_

Part 4

"And that is how the formulae should be. Got it? It's going to be on the exams so you better remember it."

She snapped to her senses, feeling slightly out of it. She blinked a couple of times, her eyes staring at the writing on the board but not quite able to focus, or able to comprehend any of it. She looked down, only to notice that her notebook was blank. A complete blank. It took her a few moments for her brain to process what was going on.

"I'm going to erase this now."

The teacher up front announced. Then it clicked in her head. Her notes. Blank. Formulae going to be on the exams.

"... AHHH!"

She completely spaced out and didn't manage to write down the formulae! And she just heard that it was going to be on the exam!

"Can I erase this, Sakurai-kun?"

The teacher asked. She looked up sheepishly, nodding slightly. Her classmates laughed at her mistake, making her red in the face.

* * *

"Some things just don't change, huh."

She looked up and saw her childhood friend, Kimura Hideki, standing by her desk and grinning from ear to ear like an idiot. She sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

"It was probably the most embarrassing thing in my life."

She muttered. Somehow, that scene seemed to jolt a strange sensation within her. Almost like deja vu. But it was impossible. She had never spaced out in class before. She always aimed to get the top marks of the class and so far she hasn't proven that wrong. But the number of smart people in this school had made her slightly nervous. For one, the other transfer student, Kamiya Yuzuru, seemed to be very good at studying. Which was surprising for her since he really didn't look like the type to study. The other person in the class is the nerdy looking Ichiki-kun. Slightly anti-social, he demands that everyone who talks to him must call him 'Christ'. For the most part, nobody calls him that.

"So what were you thinking about, must be love."

"And since when were you one to talk about that?"

She wondered. Hideki had a smug look on his face, and that really irked her to the point where she wanted to punch it off of his face.

"You don't know, do you? Love can be a wonderful thing."

"... Don't tell me you... you got a girlfriend?"

She stared at her childhood friend, unable to believe that an idiot like him could actually be dating someone. But alas, the truth was certainly stranger than fiction as Hideki smiled and nodded, his face literally beaming lights.

"OF COURSE! She's the cutest girl ever! She's sweet, kind, gentle... okay, maybe not so gentle... maybe a little rough in her words and quite hyper... but she's just so positive that you just can't-"

"Okay! Okay! Don't need to radiate your happiness like a fountain. I get it already!"

She shouted at him. It was unbearable to see such a... disgusting sight. Of course, she shouldn't be calling it disgusting and really should be congratulating him. But his overly disgusting happy face was just too much to bear.

"So? Who is she? And how did you meet her?"

She didn't really wanted to ask, but since it was Hideki she was talking about it, she had to know what sort of insane person would actually dare to date him. And so she braved his idiotic happy face to ask the question.

"Her name is Yui. Kitamura Yui. I was playing baseball with the team and accidentally hit the ball too far. It's embarrassing to say this, but the ball actually crashed through her window."

She blinked a couple of times, before getting to her feet. Hideki looked slightly puzzled at what she was doing, but soon he would find out. After another face-on slap, Hideki was allowed to continue, after Yuri's little lecture.

"Don't cause trouble for others!... Continue."

"... That hurts. Anyway, i went to apologize and met Yui. She'd been bed-ridden for quite some time now due to an accident, and had been feeling very down and depressed because she couldn't do anything and had to rely on her mother all the time. She should be able to recover soon, and she'll be coming back to school soon."

"Heh... that's quite a nice story. So? Why did she agree to go out with someone like you?"

"Oi! That's harsh! And you said it straight to my face!"

"Well, it's the truth."

Hideki wanted to say something back, but was unable to since it was actually this girl he was talking to. Being her childhood friend, he knew that if there was one thing about her she wouldn't change, is her ability to mentally and emotionally scar someone if you push her too far.

"... W-we... have a lot in common... i guess."

"... You? Have a lot in common? With a girl? Are you homo?"

"NO!"

* * *

Leaning against the railing while sipping on a can of coffee, Sakurai Yuri stared blankly out onto the field. The club activities that were going on made this school look like a normal school. And yet Yuri felt somewhat unsatisfied. There was a strange tingling in her chest that made her rather uncomfortable, like how something just didn't seem right.

Her eyes trailed off towards the baseball field, where the baseball team was going hard at it for their practice. 'Aim for Koushien', or something could be heard all the way from the field. Hideki was probably putting his all into his practice. She knew him to be someone who really enjoyed anything he did, and that baseball was the one sport he poured his heart into.

Of course that didn't mean anything to her. Still, hearing that he had gotten himself a girlfriend, though how they met is something that she still needed to lecture him on, made her feel slightly... alone. She shook her near emtpy can, hearing its remaining contents sloshing about inside. She needed another can.

"Oh, so there you are."

She turned around upon hearing a familiar voice.

"Kamiya-kun... and... kaichou?"

Yuri noticed that the other transfer student had come up to the roof as well, accompanied by the small sized student council president. In the past few weeks that Yuri had spent here, she had learnt a lot about the student council president as she was quite a famous person here. For one, she was quite small in size. Not that small, but smaller than Yuri. She seemed to be rather emotionless most of the time, but during the times when she did smile, you could see every single guy around her faint. Girls also go 'kyaa' and say how cute she is.

Okay, Yuri had to admit that the student council president was quite pretty, and cute... okay, cute enough to make Yuri doubt her own femininity. But still Yuri felt that she could be good friends with the student council president. She did not know why, but it felt like gut instinct. Instincts, she had been using that term very often every since she entered this school.

"You seem pretty lonely, so i decided to join you."

Kamiya Yuzuru said, tossing her another can of coffee. He probably knew she was drinking a lot of it.

"Hmm... so kaichou wanted to tag along because she doesn't trust you being with another girl?"

Yuri smirked, making the student council president blush a little.

"I trust Yuzuru... probably."

"Oi! Kanade! What did you mean by 'probably'? And why the long pause in between?"

Yuri could not help but laugh at the scene before her. Really, something like this felt just... right. Yuzuru and Kanade seemed to notice that Yuri had lightened up, and the two seemed to be rather happy themselves as well.

"So, Sakurai-san, what were you doing up here by yourself?"

Yuzuru asked.

"Ah... just watching the clubs."

"You're not going home yet?"

Kanade asked. Probably part of her duty as the student council president.

"... No, not yet. I want to stay here for a little longer. Call me weird, but i feel most comfortable here."

Yuri could not explain it better words, mainly because that was what she felt. That was what she knew was right.

"I see. But as the student council president, i have a duty to get all students not involved in clubs to leave the school after class."

Kanade replied. Yuri nodded, understanding the rules. Somehow she wanted to break the rules.

"... So if i want to stay in school after classes like this, i would have to be in a club, am i right?"

Yuri asked, to which Kanade nodded.

"... Okay! I've decided!"

Yuri suddenly exclaimed, surprising Yuzuru, who was drinking his can of coffee halfway. Her sudden shout made him choke on his drink. Kanade raised one hand and whacked him on the back. For someone of her size, Kanade sure had quite the monstrous strength.

"Decided? On what? You decided to join a club?"

Yuzuru asked, his voice still slightly hoarse.

"Huh? What stupid thing are you saying? There's no way i'll join a club. If i want to stay in school after classes, I'll just have to be part of a club. So, I'll create a club!"

"WHAT?"

"It'll be a club just for people like me and you. People who don't have anything better to do but just want to enjoy life! It would be a club where we would work against boredom and against this damn system that prevents us from having fun! It will be a club by youths like us, for youths! I call it, 'Sekai no Seishun Sensen' (Youth of the World Battlefront)! Also known as 'SSS'!"

* * *

A/N: No, it isn't a coincidence


	8. Chapter 8

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 8_

_Run With Wolves_

"You need at least five members to start a club. You would also need to find an advisor for the club."

Those were the words that Kanade told Yuri right after the latter declared, quite loudly and clearly on the rooftop of the school, about her intentions to create a new club. While Yuri knew that Kanade would not be able to change such basic rules, and that it wasn't Kanade's fault, Yuri still could not help but feel irritated by the student council president for adding another hurdle for her to cross. But for now, she had one other member.

"... So why am I part of this club again?"

Kamiya Yuzuru asked as the two walked around the school to find other students to join. Hanazawa Kanade had to go back to the student council room to continue her work, so Yuri dragged Yuzuru to go hunting for recruits for her new radical idea.

"You're part of the 'go-home' club, right? Since your girlfriend is always busy staying after school, wouldn't it better if you could stay behind to keep her company as well?"

Yuzuru thought about it, showing a slight inclination to agree. To Yuri, it was hook-line-and-sinker.

"So now we need another three members and an advisor."

"I think the advisor part would be the hardest one to get."

Yuzuru sighed, probably giving up on the idea that he wasn't part of this weird club.

"Hmm... we could try Maeda-sensei."

Yuri suggested, to which Yuzuru seemed a little surprised.

"Eh? You mean that modern literature teacher?"

"Modern literature? I thought he was a music teacher."

Yuri confessed.

"Ah, I heard from Kanade that he also teaches music, but that wasn't what he was hired for."

"Hmm... I think he would be perfect, then."

Yuzuru had no idea where her over-flowing amounts of positive thinking came from, but he guessed it was rather contagious.

"So how are we going to get additional members?"

"We'll look around. It's like the start of a new adventure, isn't it?"

"This isn't a game."

* * *

"And so you will join us as well."

Yuri pointed a finger at the silent girl, who only seemed to be staring back without blinking. Yuzuru had no idea what Yuri was thinking about when she dragged him all the way back to the classroom. Apparently, there was still someone left in the class. A silent girl sitting at the back of the classroom who seemed to be day-dreaming all the time. She rarely blinked, which made Yuzuru wonder if she was an actual person, or a doll. With her hair tied up into two tails, the young girl stared back at Yuri who finished explaining what the new club was going on about.

"So? Will you join?"

Yuri asked once more, being slightly more assertive. Strange, why did Yuri gently asking this girl when she more or less labelled him with being part of the club almost by default? As for this girl, Yuzuru should probably tell Yuri to give up. This sort of person wouldn't be good to hang around with, and besides, she doesn't look interested at all-

"Alright."

"See? I told you she would-... EH?"

Yuzuru was caught completely off-guard by the girl's reply.

"Good! I'm Nakamura Yuri. Glad to have you on-board."

"You're introducing yourself only now?"

"Shut up, I know it was rude not to introduce myself first, but i just could not help myself. So what's your name?"

Yuri turned back to the girl, who did not seemed to have moved a single inch, or show any change in demeanour while Yuzuru and Yuri were arguing.

"... Yusa."

"Hmm, Yusa-chan. Okay, this may sound a little rushed, but do you know anymore people who would wish to join this club?"

Yusa shook her head, though seemed to want to say something.

"... I can help you find out."

"Oh? That is good. If you have a good information network, we can find more people than the required five to join us and therefore have a higher approval rate."

"I wonder where your enthusiasm comes from. Just one miligram would do if you could give it to me."

"Want me to give it to you? You're surprisingly a pervert. Wait till kaichou hears about it."

* * *

"We only have four members so far. Where can we find the last one?"

Yuri wondered out loud, chewing on her bento during the lunch break the next day. Yuzuru, Yusa, and Hideki had joined her at her table for the meal when she said that. Yuri had planned to introduce Hideki and Yuzuru to each other, but it had seemed that the two guys were already friends by day one when Yuzuru transferred in. Yuri did not know how they met, but these two seemed to be getting along very well. A little too well.

It made Yuri question Hideki's sexuality, mainly because she had seen Yuzuru's girlfriend, but have yet to see Hideki's. So Yuri cannot say if Hideki was simply imagining his cute, pink-haired, sweet love that whose window he smashed with a baseball was real at all, or simply a figment of his overly simplified imagination.

"Huh? Four? I thought we only had three."

Yuzuru asked. Yuri pointed to Hideki.

"He's number four."

"... EH? Since when? I didn't hear anything about joining your little club! In the first place i don't know what club you're talking about!"

Hideki shouted, jumping to his feet. Yuri countered by jabbing her fingers into his eyeballs, causing him to scream and roll around on the floor.

"We were just talking about it. How could you not be listening?"

"We weren't really talking about."

Yuzuru spoke up, earning a glare from Yuri.

"... Fine. Anyway, Hideki is part of the club."

"Since when?"

"Oh? You recover pretty fast."

Yuri noted, though his eyes were really red and teary.

"I'm asking since when did i become part of your club? And besides, I'm already part of the baseball team!"

"There isn't a rule in the school saying you can't be part of two clubs. Besides, i already put down your name as a default."

"DEFAULT?"

"Stop your shouting. I'm not deaf. Besides, weren't you the one who said that you would follow me no matter what?"

Yuri asked. Hideki wanted to say something back, but stopped. He cocked his head sideways, looking puzzled.

"Did i say that?"

He asked. Now Yuri wasn't sure as well. A part of her was certain that Hideki said that to her before. But nothing in her memories had told her the same. When did he say that? And why did she feel another strange wave of nostalgia?

"... That's not important. You're part of the club, so just suck it up. We've got to find another member to fit the requirements."

Yuri sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"I heard you're creating a new club? Mind if I hear about it?"

Yuri tilted her head upwards, looking to the person standing behind her. The young girl with shoulder length red hair looked at Yuri with a slight puzzled expression. For one, Yuri wasn't really sitting in a very 'lady-like' manner. But Yuri did not care about that. For some reason this girl seemed familiar to Yuri, and just seeing her also ignited a strange sense of sadness and relief. Why? Why was it like Yuri was seeing a dear old friend who disappeared many years ago? Yuri felt her eyes getting teary, so she sat back straight, rubbing her eyes. The newcomer took a seat on the desk next to Yuri's, chewing on what seemed to be a piece of yakisoba bread.

"I overheard you guys talking about creating a new club. I got interested so i decided to join you guys. Surely you don't mind?"

The newcomer asked, to which Yuri shook her head.

"You're more than welcomed, er..."

"Asami. Sawashiro Asami. Good to meet you, Sakurai Yuri-san."

Asami smirked. The words that came to Yuri's mind were 'cool beauty'. Indeed, Asami was a pretty girl who exuded a strange sense of cool and level-headed calm.

"You know about me?"

Yuri wondered.

"Everyone knows about the two new transfer students. The two of you sure did a lot of attract a lot of attention."

"Ha..."

Yuri did not want to stand out too much, but then again with this new club she was planning to form, she couldn't really call herself 'laying-low'.

"You may know about us, but we don't know anything about you, Sawashiro-san."

"Sawashiro Asami, third year class D. A student with a successful music career under the name 'Marina'. Her last single 'My Song' had been in the top spot for the past two weeks. She wanted to finish high school and managed to get her agency to agree. She has a large fan-base in the school alone though is rarely seen with other people since her fans describe her as 'untouchable' or 'out-of-reach'."

Yusa spoke up a whole paragraph without pause and in a monotonous voice. That really surprised and frightened the group. Asami laughed a little at what Yusa said, somehow finding that she said to be funny.

"Ah, you got yourself a good reporter. It is true, that while i'm at work i have another name, yet it still doesn't help with my social life. Because of my fame, people think i use another name because i don't want to be swarmed by people. While that is true, it is slightly to the extreme in that everyone now avoids me."

"I'm sure you must have some friends."

Yuri replied, never hearing of a person in school who is actually alone. Okay, maybe one or two.

"Hmm, well, i do have three friends that i formed a band with once, though because of work i hardly see them."

"I see. So? Why do you want to join this club?"

Yuri asked, which added to Yuzuru's and Hideki's surprise.

"Hmm, well, i guess i wanted to be part of a normal school club activity, but no one would seem to be accepting new members. I thought of joining the K-On club, but they didn't really play my type of music. So i heard that you're creating a club and came over to see what you guys were planning to do."

At that, Yuri smiled. Something Hideki did not like one bit.

"Well, Sawashiro-san, you're in luck. The club i'm creating isn't limited to a single activity. We are basically a club that does anything we want just to enjoy school life and our youths. Life is too short to be wasted on merely studying and following rules. So this club is meant to be a place where everyone can just be free and do whatever they want! We are the-... what are we again?"

"Fujitsubou (barnacles) sensen."

"That's right, the fujitsubou- YOU IDIOT!"

Yuri immediately turned and gave Hideki one good punch.

"We're the 'Sekai no Seishun Sensen'. Good to have you onboard!"

Yuri stuck out her hand, to which Asami shook without almost any hesitation.

"I don't know why, but if it's you, even the craziest ideas seem to be possible, Sakurai-san. I'm glad to join this club. I'll be in your care for the rest of the year."

* * *

Things seemed to go smoothly right after they got Sawashiro Asami to join them. Maybe it was also because Sawashiro was the school's celebrity student that things went rather smoothly for them. Getting the advisor, the literature/music teacher Maeda sensei was also an easier task to get a hold of than expected.

"It's interesting, so okay!"

Was what he said when Yuri approached him about being the club advisor.

"It did even take him one second to approve it."

Hideki sighed as they headed off to the student council room to hand in their application.

"It's just the type of person he is. He's also the one who supported me when i wanted to come back to school despite my work schedule."

Asami added.

"Well, now with this we can get our club through."

Yuri said with great confidence.

* * *

"Rejected."

Was the instant reply they got from the scowling vice president of the student council, Naoto Ayato.

"EH? Why? Kanade-chan said that we can make a club as long as we have five members and an advisor!"

Yuri shouted back, making the vice president slightly irked.

"Yes, Kaichou did say that, and since when did you start calling her by her name? Anyway we also have a responsibility as the student council to ensure that only PROPER clubs are formed! What sort of silly idea is this? This is probably the most stupid idea I've ever heard of a club being formed. All of you must be idiots- ah, Kamiya-san is an obvious exception."

The vice president was obviously kissing up to Yuzuru. Apparently Yuzuru and Ayato have known each other for sometime, almost like childhood friends. Yuzuru apparently helped and saved Ayato from alot of trouble that the latter got into, making him look up to Yuzuru like a reliable older brother despite being the same age. Yuri had no choice, looking for to Yuzuru for help. The boy sighed, walking up to Ayato.

"Look, i know that you're busy and all with work. But why not let this one slide? It's basically a club that would do anything, including help the student council with work. You can call us the 'do-anything' club."

"... Fine, since it's Kamiya-san asking, I'll let this be approved."

Ayato finally relented, stamping the application with the seal of approval. Yuri always thought that only Kanade had the authority to use that seal.

"You guys can use the unused club in the club building on the third floor. However I should warn you that a certain weirdo had taken up residence there."

"Weirdo?"

"... Some people say that a ninja fanatic has taken up residence in that room and would threaten to kill anyone who dares enters the room without permission."

"And you're giving us such a dangerous room?"

"There aren't any more rooms for you! Besides, I think this would be your very first task from the student council. If you can get that person to leave, then you will get the room and we will let you do as you please. Not such a bad agreement, isn't it?"

* * *

A/N: I had to get Asami into the group fast... a lot of people (myself included) feel as though she left the series a little too early. Episode 3 to be exact. Note that Ayato's name is the only one that isn't changed to the seiyuu's surname. This is mainly because Ayato's character is actually taken from Persona 4's Shirogane Naoto. I just took Naoto instead. Yes, Yuki is actually Yukiko from Persona 4. In fact, Maeda Jun wanted Yuri to be like Yukiko from Persona 4, since he's a big fan of the game. I like persona 3 better, but 4 is great too.

So Taeno Yuki from my story is closer in looks to Amagi Yukiko from Persona 4 than Nakamura Yuri from Angel Beats! is. What a confusing way of putting it. But it explains why i chose the name Yuki. Yuki is similar to Yuri in character and name, however she has the same name as Yukiko and looks like her, whom Yuri was based off from. It's a strange triangular relationship... i know.


	9. Chapter 9

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 9_

_Little Braver_

The group of five stopped outside the door to the unused club room that they were assigned to. It certainly did give off a certain 'keep-out' feeling about it, but Yuri could not be deterred from her goal of establishing her club. She turned to the others, who all seemed to have a certain air of tension around them. It was a given, though, since they were asked to get a ninja fanatic to leave their new club room. Swallowing hard, Yuri reached out and opened the door. The very first thing that every noticed, were the wind up soft toy puppies that were scattered throughout the entire room. A large number of these toys were simply just sitting there, doing nothing at all.

"... What sort of sick, horror show is this from?"

Hideki asked, obviously freaked out by the large number of motionless toys that were simply sitting there, staring straight at the five who just entered the room in silence. It certainly did seem like a scene out of a western horror film, and even Yuri wasn't sure about the whole room being safe.

"So you are the one they call Yurippe."

A voice suddenly spoke up once the group entered the room. Stepping out from the shadows of the room, a girl with long dark blue hair and a piercing stare greeted them with a slight bow.

"I've heard a lot about you."

She said, making Yuri slightly puzzled.

"Er... thanks, i guess. But how exactly do you know about me?"

"... There was an intruder earlier, trying to kick me out of this room whilst claiming it was for his 'Yurippe'. He was quite the stubborn guy, though quite stupid as well. You certainly do have some tough servants."

Now Yuri was confused. She was sure she didn't ask anyone to barge into the clubroom before her.

"... Hideki-kun, do you know who she's talking about?"

"Not a clue."

Hideki answered back.

"Yurippe-san, i believe she is talking about a certain member of your fan club."

Yusa offered an answer, and Yuri felt rather confused by it.

"... A fan club?"

"They actually exist?"

"Yes, Yurippe-san had garnered quite a number of fans among the boys of our level. Mainly because you often stare out into space often that guys think you have a certain mysterious beauty characteristic. This is a sample picture."

Yusa took out a photo of Yuri thinking about something as she was leaning against the railing on top of the roof of the school.

"... Since when was this picture taken? And why do you have one?"

Yuri asked, to which Yusa had no reply for. While Yuri and her group were in a rather heated debate/discussion about the photo and the existence of Yuri's supposedly fan club (which was at odds with Kanade's secret fan club, who were also called the 'kill Kamiya faction'), the shinobi girl took out what looked to be a kunai, and threw it at the wall next to Hideki. That caught their attention.

"It does not matter whether than previous intruder was with you or not. The case is that you are trying to force me out of this room to claim it as your own. That i will not allow."

"You sure talk alot for a silent character."

Hideki pointed out.

"... How shallow-minded."

* * *

"Let's talk this over first, to see if we can make some sort of agreement."

Yuri had said, and surprisingly the shinobi fanatic agreed. Calling herself Shiina, the girl offered Yuri a drink while they talk. However Yuzuru and Hideki were kicked out of the room for some unknown reason. Asami decided to join them as well, stating that such talks did not suit her.

"... Why don't we take a look at this 'fan' of Sakurai-san?"

Asami suggested, and since the two boys had nothing better to do, they agreed. The three out of the club room building and went around the back where they encountered a rather disturbing sight. Like a piece of fresh kill, a male student was hanging under a tree with only a single rope to tie him to the branch. Fuming from the unconscious guy was a strange putrid smell that made the three cover their nose and mouths almost immediately.

"... This is certainly a horrible sight."

Hideki cringed his nose as the horrible smell wafted to his nose. Yuzuru walked up for a closer look, though somehow he regretted that decision as the smell became somewhat too strong for him.

"Seems like he had been hit with cow manure."

Yuzuru said after getting back to a safe distance.

"Cow manure? Where can you get something like that?"

"There's a farm not too far from school. I have to walk by it to get here from home."

Asami replied, narrowing her eyes at the strung up corpse.

"Shouldn't we cut him down?"

Hideki asked.

"No, better not. We don't know what else that Shiina person is planning to do with him. Besides, we don't even know if he is sane, being a fan of Yuri, out of all people."

Yuzuru pointed out. It seemed that both Hideki and Asami agreed with that statement, but felt they shouldn't really be saying it out loud. Yuzuru must have a lot of guts to say something like that.

"Hey, isn't this that weirdo from our class? What's his name... ah, Takagi."

Yuzuru suddenly remembered his name.

"Huh? You mean that idiot of idiots? The one who swings around that large stick all the time?"

Hideki asked. By large stick, Hideki meant the large replica halberd that this guy always carries. Since it is only a blunt replica, it isn't exactly against the rules to bring one to school. However swinging it around all the time would catch the public morals committee and the student council's eye from time to time, so this idiot was rather famous.

"... Should we really cut this idiot down?"

Hideki asked once more.

"... Better not. We'll see what Yuri thinks of it later."

Yuzuru replied and the two agreed. As the three headed back into the club building, they spotted three girls running up towards them.

"Sawashiro-san!"

They shouted as they ran up to the three.

"More fans?"

Hideki wondered, but Asami shook her head with a smile.

"No, they're my friends. Oi! Hisako!"

The three who came up to the group were somewhat a little different from what Yuzuru and Hideki would picture friends of this cool and level headed Asami. The three seemed to be rather hyper and active.

"Heh... Ne, Sawashiro-san, which one here is your boyfriend?"

The one with the golden hair asked, prompting the taller brown haired girl to punch the former in the head.

"Baka! Don't ask such stupid questions!"

"It's okay, Hisako. To answer Shiori's question, no, none of these are my boyfriend. Besides, the two of them are already taken."

Asami laughed it off, though Yuzuru managed to catch a slight quiver in her voice. So even the level-headed Sawashiro can be embarrassed.

"Eh? Hmm, i thought for sure that Sawashiro got a guy of her own. If i had to say, this one looks best for you."

The golden hair girl pointed to Yuzuru, and Yuzuru felt like he was put under the spot light now.

"Huh? Why him?"

The one called Hisako asked.

"Don't know... maybe because he looks very kind and reliable? The hard-working and nosy kind of person who likes to stick his nose into other people's problems. The type of person that Sawashiro-san can depend on even during her work, I guess."

Yuzuru noticed that Asami looked at him with a slight blush. Well, she is a girl, so even she must be thinking of stuff like this from time to time.

"Another reason would be that he gives off the feeling of the main character of a gal-game!"

Now that really broke the mood. But now that sentence even got Hisako, the one who had been trying to stop Shiori from doing anything bad, thinking with a mischievous smirk.

"Aha... the main guy in a gal-game? In that case, even if he has a girlfriend, it wouldn't hurt to try to aim for him? So? Asami? Want to try it?"

Hisako jokingly nudged her friend, who was getting flustered and pushing her friend away.

"Hi-Hisako!"

"Ha ha ha! Just joking. Hey, if you get bored of your girlfriend, you can always find Asami-"

"Hisako!"

"Or me!"

Now that's just too much. Yuzuru wasn't even sure if she was joking or being serious. She had a strange poker face that was hard to read.

"Eh? But Hisako-senpai, weren't you dating that yankee? What's his name..."

The third girl finally spoke up, curling her lavender hair around her finger as thought hard about it.

"Him? He's gone off somewhere without telling me again. Probably to pick a fight or something. I'm not bailing him out of trouble this time."

"Eh? You're breaking up with him?"

"Call it taking a break."

Yuzuru had no idea what the hell these girls were talking about, but just then Yuri stepped out of the clubroom and called out to them.

"Hey! We have the room now so let's go in."

That prompted everyone, including the three newcomers, to enter the clubroom. While most of the soft toys were moved, Yuzuru noticed that the shinobi fanatic, Shiina, was still there. Yuri read the question that was one everyone's mind and smiled, crossing her arms as she stood behind the main desk of the room, making her look like some director of a company, or some military dictator.

"Shiina-san has agreed to join us in the SSS. From today onwards, we shall use this room as our base of operations to conduct our missions to enjoy our youths, and to liberate the youths of the world from this unfair system placed upon us by society!"

For some reason, the girls were all clapping to that. Yuzuru did not know if he should, and Hideki was still trying to wrap his mind around what Yuri had just said. Something about Yuri's goal just seemed too over-the-top. Too ambitious. Yuzuru was planning something smaller, like growing a new garden to please his girlfriend since she seemed to like gardening.

"Our first mission, is to recruit more people! The school festival is occurring soon, and we need to plan our activities! There is also the news of a similar club to ours in the next school. They call themselves the 'SOS Brigade', and have the nerve to copy us! What sort of name is SOS brigade anyway? That's so dumb! Almost like something a five-year old would come up with!"

"Er... I don't think you're in any position to talk about the name being dumb. Besides, since their club was created before us, wouldn't we be copying them instead?"

Yuzuru asked.

"It doesn't matter who came first! What is important is that their school festival is the same day as ours! We shall make our stand during that day! I don't know which idiotic leader is in-charge over there, calling herself 'God', but we shall defeat her! If she is God, then we are the ones who would throw her off her throne! We are the rebels against God! We are the SSS!"

* * *

A/N: I just HAD to put that in... after the HUGE debate over the net and forums about how Yuri happened to look similar to Haruhi (Yuri is in fact a short haired Yukiko from Persona 4), i thought it would be interesting to see something like this happen. Just so happens that Haruhi is 'God' and the SSS are 'rebels against God'.

check out some of the motivators i made back when the first episode just aired  
s292(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/mm14/furiouswind/Motivators/

Kudos to all who recognize the meaning of the chapter titles for the SSS members in their new lives.


	10. Chapter 10

Angel Beats!

What We Die For

Chapter 10

Gearing Up

Part 5

"Oi! Kurogane! Wake up!"

I stirred slightly, hearing my name being called. That, and the fact that I'm being shaken violently. I opened my eyes, and as the world came back into focus, i noticed a bunch of students walking into the classroom. They each had an armband around their right arm with the words 'Public Morals'. So, they've come. I looked towards Riki, who seemed to be rather nervous to the point of not able to issue the command to escape.

The mission was to attend classes and escape if the public morals appeared. It would be a different story if it were the student council members. The public morals committee were like ruthless police dogs, and if they appeared, talking wouldn't be very helpful. Riki's fear had rooted him to his seat and made him silent. Perhaps Kyousuke needed to train him a bit more. The other members of the Little Busters were all waiting for his signal. As one of the public morals members walked towards Rin, the tension was mounting.

"... Tch, Everyone! Pull out!"

I decided to give the order, Rin was in too much danger. At my call, the others sprang into action. Kudo jumped out of her seat and out of an open window. Wait, wasn't this the third floor? Haruka pushed a button, which actually activated what appeared to be a rocket under her chair as she was sent flying straight into the ceiling, and beyond. Who knows just how far she flew up. As for Riki, he managed to recover and escape through the front door where the public morals weren't guarding.

However Rin was still rooted to her seat. The public morals were closing in on her. Now wasn't the time to think. Grabbing the notebook on my desk, I flung it at the public morals committee member closest to Rin, distracting him as i jumped to my feet and dashed towards Rin. Grabbing her by the collar, I dragged her towards the entrance, but found that more enemy reinforcements were present.

"Dammit, plan B."

Not really plan B, in that i didn't really have any plans made in my mind at all. I turned and ran straight for the window on the other side of the classroom. Without even thinking, i jumped, pulling Rin along for the ride. The last thing i remember, was thinking about how long the drop to the ground was.

* * *

Waking up, i found myself on the sofa of principals office. All was quiet as the sky outside was dark. Was it the Shadow hour? No, looking at the clock, the first Shadow hour had gone by. It would another two hours before the second Shadow hour. I sat up, rubbing the back of my head where it felt slightly sore.

"You're up. Good."

I turned to see Yuki walking into the room with a plate of omelet rice. She placed the plate on the table, gesturing me to eat it.

"You took quite a bad fall. You need more practice on how to fall without blacking out."

Yuki explained as i dug into my meal. Yuki sat down in the principal's chair behind the desk, throwing her feet up onto the desk.

"You landed straight on your head and your neck snapped like a twig with your blood spurting out like a fountain. Want a photo to commemorate your brilliant death? No? Well, nevermind then. Of course, you revived shortly after. Rin was the one to drag you back here. She left that for you."

Yuki pointed at the table where a stack of food coupons were. That, and a piece of paper. I grabbed the paper and looked at it. On it was a drawing of a cat and a 'thank you'. Pocketing the food coupons, i turned back to Yuki.

"So how was the operation?"

"The distraction worked quite well. Our intelligence division managed to get a hold the schedule of the Public Morals Committee. They're planning to raid our assault base of operations tomorrow."

Yuki explained, opening a can of 'Key' coffee to drink.

"They can do that?"

"They are essentially the police of this World. Although we merely want to survive by fighting the Shadows, our actions are also outside the system of what this World allows therefore letting the Public Morals people to come after us. That is what the diversion division is for. Of course, we can't go off killing the NPCs, who knows what would happen if we were to do that. This entire system could collapse and we would end up becoming forever 'lost'. Not passing on, not even in purgatory. We could have our existence erased."

"... I wasn't going to propose killing NPCs."

I said, though the thought did cross my mind before.

"Well, whatever you're thinking, there are also some NPCs who were once like us. It is impossible for most of us to shoot at people whom we had considered comrades and friends at one point."

I did see that point, and I did notice that several members of the SSS2 were rather frightened, or sad, when they saw some NPCs. Some of those NPCs used to be humans. They used to be members of the SSS2, converted into NPCs by shadows. Some of those former comrades may have even transformed to become the Shadows that the SSS2 fights. Such a thought was frightening and to be honest it made me slightly sick.

"So what's next?"

I ask, finishing my plate of food.

"We need to fortify our assault base. The Little Busters are already there to lend them a hand."

"I see."

So Kyousuke and Riki were already there. Then perhaps i should head over as well. But just as i got up from the sofa, Yuki stopped me.

"Wait. At the moment, the Little Buster have gotten it covered. Right now we have a larger problem."

That did not sound good.

"What's the problem?"

Yuki closed her eyes, clearly pained to say it. Was it something else that went wrong? So many things could go wrong that i wouldn't know what Yuki was going say.

"... Tonight, the diversion division is unable to mobilize. We would need to go out to hunt Shadows one by one."

"What? Why isn't the diversion division able to-"

"During Operation: Blind Man, we lost Tetsuya."

Tetsuya, the leader of the Diversion Division. Lost?

"What do you mean, lost?"

"The Public Morals people got him as he tried to escape."

"Didn't you say the operation went well?"

"Yes, it went ahead as planned. We got what we needed and now we can act before the public morals catches us. But such things are not without risks. You should know that by now."

I bit my lip, unable to say anything back to Yuki. What she said was true, that things in this World never worked out completely fine. Nothing was perfect. Somehow that phrase resounded strongly in my mind. I do not know why, but it pained me to think of it.

"If he's been caught, then he should have been released by now, right?"

"... No. We do not know what happened, but Tetsuya hasn't been seen after that. We lost contact completely. We can only assume the worst at this point."

"You mean... a Shadow?"

Yuki did not answer, her dark expression telling me that it could be something worse. Far worse.

"Whatever it may be, the fact is that our diversion division is without a leader. The Assault division would need to fan out to hunt down the Shadows. I've sent all available hands to aid in this Operation."

"So that's why the fort is empty."

"Yes. I'll also be heading out into the field later."

Yuki explained, grabbing an assault rifle (FN SCAR) that was leaning against the wall. She checked the ammunition level in the magazine before slotting it back.

"You'll need a rifle of your own. I would accompany you to Guild, but my responsibilities lie with organizing the members. I'm sure you know the way to Guild."

Yuki looked to me as she turned the safety off on her rifle. I nodded in reply and she smiled.

"Good. You're growing up. I'll see you later on the field."

* * *

I stepped back into Old Guild, where the heat from the fires were still as intense as ever. The number of people rushing about had increased since the last time i came here, in particular i noticed an increase in people getting weapons and ammunition. Perhaps they are preparing for tonight's operation? I walked over to the table of my fitter, Shotoku Gen. The scrawny guy was focusing on a rifle so much that he didn't notice i had just walked up to his work bench.

"... Shotoku-san?"

I ask, but Gen simply raised a finger to silence me.

"Not now... I need to fine tune this and... dammit!"

A spring flew out of the rifle and i managed to catch it before it flew too far. Placing the spring on his work bench, i look to Gen who placed the now broken rifle by the side.

"Kurogane. I see you're joining those assault guys in tonight's operation."

He seemed slightly irritated, perhaps i shouldn't have disturbed him.

"You better treat my beauties better than those apes. I don't want to see even a scratch on my works of art."

Ah, so i see why he's angry. I look over to where some other assault members were, testing out their weapons in a rather rough way. While i was looking elsewhere, Gen placed a rifle on the table.

"This is a SAR-21. It has good reliability, but it would be slightly tricky to use because it is a bull-pup design. This type of gun would be perfect for you since you have a smaller body frame than the others. This baby uses 5.56X45mm NATO rounds. Here are six magazines for it, and another four for your STI Edge. I hope your pistol is still working fine?"

Gen narrowed his eyes at me, as though accusing me of something. I pull out my pistol and placed it on his workbench. Gen took my pistol and inspected it carefully.

"... You didn't use her much, did you?"

He asked.

"No, I haven't been involved in any battles besides the one right after you gave me this."

"I see... When cleaning the barrel, you need to make sure not to make any scratches. A slight niche could alter the accuracy and overall performance of the gun."

Gen explained, handing me back my pistol. I noticed that he seemed to have calmed down a bit after seeing my pistol. An artist at heart, huh. Never knew that.

"What's this? Shotoku, i didn't know you outfitted anyone."

A rough voice made me turn. The guy who stood right behind me was tall. Way taller than me. About thirty centimetres taller? He has broad shoulders and quite a muscular built, though i had seen some guys with more rippling muscles than this guy. Still, the impression i got from him was 'scary bear'. His matted dark brown hair and overly sparkling emerald eyes vastly contrasted his outfit. Unlike the other members of the SSS2, being smart and smooth, almost as though he were an officer in the army. Tucked under one arm is even a military style hat.

"Shrewerz-san, do you mind not standing too close to my workbench? Your large built practically spews sweat and gun powder. Did the boss let you raid her gun closet again?"

Gen asked. Shrewerz? A German? What's a German doing in this place?

"Ah ha ha, well, you know me. I can't resist testing out what Yuuko makes. Seeing those weapons just turns me on!"

"Please don't turn anything on in here... sigh, Kurogane, this is Ein Shrewerz, one of the five leaders. In charge of the assault division."

Gen introduced me to the large man, who smiled and stuck out his hand.

"Good to meet you, new kid."

Kid? Did this guy just call me kid?

"Erm... about your name."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, i get asked about that a lot. I'm a mixed blood, you see. My mom's Japanese while my dad's German. He migrated over and worked as a police officer."

Huh, I didn't know that the Japanese police hired foreigners.

"They usually don't hire foreigners, Kurogane."

Gen said, reading my thoughts. I'm guessing it was a question well asked around here.

"However since this guy's mother was well connected, they managed to pull some strings. His dad was more like an instructor for the police cadets, though he still went out on the field. Because of what his father was, he turned out to be another gun freak. Honestly, we don't need a second boss in here."

Gen sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, i won't take over Yuuko's place. I prefer fighting on the frontlines than working in these tunnels."

Ein replied. I sensed a slight hint of sadness when he said that.

"Well, no point in talking about such things. We've got Shadows to fight. Hey, newbie."

"It's Kurogane."

I did not like being called 'newbie'. It felt like he was belittling me.

"I don't give a damn about your name. When you're on the battlefield, you're under my jurisdiction. I give the orders, and you follow. Yuki isn't who you answer to, it's me. Do as i say, no mistakes, and you will live. Got it?"

All of a sudden Ein's demeanour changed from a rather easy-going person, to a fierce military officer. What with this sudden change?

"Don't mind him, Kurogane. He gets too much into the 'leader' character when it comes down to missions. Call it 'switching' of persona."

Gen explained, turning back to fixing the rifle that broke earlier.

"Switching? Persona?"

Sounds like a game, if you ask me. I watch as drill master mc-bear goes off to bark orders at the rest of assault team, wondering if it was really going to be alright if it were left to him.

"Don't worry about Shrewerz. He can things done when the time comes. And though he may act like an asshole, he'll watch your back."

"... Kind of like Imagawa-san."

"Hmph, that idiot Jin only follows Yuki blindly. If you aren't working under Yuki, Jin could care less about whether you get eaten by a Shadow or get skewered by a pole. No, Shrewerz is much better than that. That's why he's the leader of the assault division. That is why people look up to him, because with him in charge, the assault division has never lost a single man to the Shadows."

"Hmm... i see."

So he's a rather impressive leader. I guess i could see that in him.

"Just for your information, he's also the kind of guy who would rather shoot himself and his comrades than let them get eaten. His way of showing some 'tough love'."

"... I see."

Actually, i don't see it. I grab the spare magazines from Gen's workbench, checking to make sure that my new rifle fitted me well. As expected of Gen, the weapon fitted snugly in my arms.

"After this battle, come back to see me. I have a little surprise for you."

Gen said while still focusing on his rifle. I nodded, placing a couple of food coupons on his workbench before joining up with the rest of the assault division. Tonight was going to be hunting night. For the first time since I've join the SSS2, we're going on the offensive.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to Jhon117 (should i call you master chief?) for the character. Sorry that i didn't get it quite right. But since your guy is a leader, he'll be appearing more often.

Those who don't know what the guns are, use wikipedia, or google them. SAR-21 is actually a bullpup assault rifle used by my country. I have to be slightly bias here, since it is a rifle from my country... but i still like the FAMAS more than the SAR-21, that won't change.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: This chapter may seem very unrealistic, but hey, it's my story and they're all dead, remember? Let me say something about my main OC... Kurogane DOES have weaknesses. More mental and emotional than physical weaknesses (emotionally and mentally unstable). Got it? Okay, Kurogane is not Mary Sue, or God. No. Just a really damn good fighter. I've added another character here... those who know her, good for you! For those who don't, wait till the end of the chapter's AC.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 11_

_First Assault_

Peering around the corner, I kept my finger on the trigger of my rifle, ready to fire at the first enemy I spot. However all was silent in the empty hallway of the school. I heave a sigh of relief, leaning back against the wall as I sat down onto the floor. The Shadow hour had already begun, but so far I had yet to spot a single Shadow. The entire assault division had split up across the school, going about in four men cells. The sniper division were stationed on the rooftops of the buildings as well, keeping a watch out for any Shadow that appeared out in the open. I look at the members i was grouped with.

Fujibayashi Kyou, the girl I met in the cafeteria the day before, smiled warmly back at me as she slotted a magazine into her M16A4 rifle. Another member of my group was a rather unsociable girl with shoulder length dark grey hair. When asked, she said her name was Sakamoto Shiki. She said nothing else after that. Armed with only two pistols, one Browning Hi-Power Practical and one SIG Sauer P220 combat, and one katana, i had to wonder if she really was suited for battle. Her facial features were soft and somewhat delicate. Almost like a doll like appearance with her pale looks.

"Don't worry about Shiki. She can hold out on her own."

Kyou reassured me, though I don't know just how well assured i should be. The last member of the team was a guy. He was rather scared, as evident by his uncontrollable shaking legs. He was a rather meek looking kid, clutching onto that L85A1 rifle like his life depended upon it. Well, it was true that without it he would be eaten rather quickly.

"Hey, Fujihara, calm down."

Kyou told the boy, but it did not seem helpful as his trembles became more violent. It was like sitting next to a rattle snake.

"I-i'm not like you or Sakamoto-san! I-i don't belong in assault division!"

Fujihara exclaimed.

"It's not whether you belong or not. So what if you came from the diversion division? You can still survive as long as you stay sharp and focused. Okay?"

Kyou smiled warmly, letting Fujihara calm down a little. She looked like a caring mother. She must really like working with kids. But still, i guess the disappearance of Tetsuya really shook up the diversion division members. I thought it was rather unreasonable for Yuki and Ein to get the diversion division members to participate in the assault as well, but i guessed they needed all the help they can get. Kyou and Shiki both come from the assault division, so they have the most battle experience. Fujihara comes from the diversion division so his main point would be attracting attention and running away.

As for me? For the time being i belong to Fort, under Yuki's command. Although technically being 'loaned' out to the relief squad 'Little Busters', for this operation, i'm being placed with the designation of Fort. It is said that members of Fort excel as holding down positions, seeing as how they are always defending the Principal building, but for me, i'm not too sure whether i am suited to be that sort of person. As i was deep in thought, the radio suddenly came to life with static feed.

_'"This is Assault squad two! Enemy spotted by the science lab! Request reinforcements!"'_

I look to Kyou, the girl nodding back. The four of us got up from the floor, heading towards the science lab. Shiki took point, sprinting effortlessly through the corridors with a strange sense of elegance. It was almost like following a prancing deer in a forest, though i don't think that a deer would actually carry guns or wave swords around. But Shiki suddenly stopped, prompting the rest of us to stop behind her as well.

"... They're here."

Shiki said, drawing her sword. At that moment, i sensed a strange change in Shiki. The moment she drew that sword, her entire aura changed from calm elegance, to graceful murderer. It was hard to explain it in proper words, but it was like Shiki's presence itself was like a sword, sharp and ready to cut anything that goes near her. And yet it was hard to ignore such grace in her stance. But just as i was fantasizing about how a girl looks so graceful just by drawing a sword, the Shadows came. Bursting through the walls, the large misty being known as the Shadow lumbered towards us.

"Fire!"

Kyou shouted, opening fire at the Shadow. Fujihara and i opened fire as well, not giving any breathing room for the Shadow to recover. The SAR-21 handled pretty well in my arms, the recoil being less than i expected. The Shadow disappeared just as i finished my first magazine. Ejecting the clip, i slotted in the second magazine.

"More of them!"

Five more Shadows climbed through the hole that the first one made. Shiki rushed forward, and with one swift stroke, she cut through the first shadow like it was air. Without pause, she twisted her body and cut through a second. Her movements were flawless, graceful, and seamless like a stream. Yet her attacks and her very aura were like a torrent of malice, a violent storm cutting through everything before her.

However, even Shiki could not cover all sides. Instinctively i drew my combat knife and threw it. The knife stabbed the Shadow that was about to attack Shiki's unprotected back. The Shadow dropped to the ground, but it didn't disappear just yet. I ran over, pointing my rifle at point blank range before pulling the trigger. The Shadow disappeared after i emptied the clip. Two clips down, four left. I need to start making my shots count.

"I didn't need any help."

Shiki said, narrowing her eyes at me as i slotted my combat knife back in the holder strapped to my thigh.

"Come on, Shiki, Kurogane saved your back so just be honest about it."

Kyou slung her arm around Shiki, who apparently didn't like the gesture.

"... Thank you."

Shiki mumbled in an almost inaudible voice.

"Geez, you're such a shy girl!"

Kyou laughed, just as the radio picked up a transmission once more.

_'"T-this is science lab! We're being overrun! Pull back!"'_

At that, Kyou narrowed her eyes, taking her arm off Shiki and getting her rifle ready.

"This is bad. We need to provide cover. Come on."

Kyou led the rest of us through the corridor till the sounds of gunshots could be heard. A massive battle was up ahead. We soon joined up with other students who were using tables as a barricade, firing over them to fight the Shadows.

"What's the situation?"

Kyou asked, joining some of the SSS2 members behind the barricade.

"There's a sudden explosion in numbers! We couldn't contain them in the science lab so Shrewerz-san ordered a retreat!"

The boy shouted over the hail of gun fire.

"Where's Ein?"

Kyou asked. The boy pointed outside the window.

"He's drawing more of them out into the courtyard for the snipers! But we've got to hold them off here! We sent a second division down to the second floor to cut them off at the North Stairwell!"

Kyou nodded back, turning to me.

"Kurogane! I need you and Fujihara to go around the back! There's a second barricade downstairs that needs to be reinforced! Take the south stairwell!"

"Alright!"

I gestured Fujihara to follow as we left the barricade to the other side. As i ran down the corridors, my mind kept racing through what was happening. It was certainly slightly unrealistic what we're doing, and yet it was somehow getting real natural to me. This was bad. I shouldn't be getting too used to this.

"K-Kurogane!"

Fujihara's voice made me turn and my blood turned cold instantly. A Shadow had caught Fujihara. Black mist was slowly engulfing the boy as my mind blanked out. What was this? Why won't my body move? Fear? Move. Move, dammit! He's going to be taken away! Why won't my body move?

"H-help me!"

His pleas made me snap back to reality. I ran straight at him, slamming my weight against him. It sent him to the ground, but it also dislodged the Shadow that was holding onto him. I drew my pistol, firing all of the shots in my magazine into the Shadow before it disappeared. But for some reason my finger wouldn't stop pulling the trigger. The empty chamber kept clicking as my finger kept firing the empty gun.

I dropped the gun, looking at my own hands tremble. Fear. Fear gripped its cold claws onto me. It was once said that fear was contagious. Indeed it was. I couldn't think straight, the scene of Fujihara crying for help played on repeat in my mind. In the previous battle i did not see such a scene up close, and it was Yuki who dealt with the Shadow. But this time i had witnessed a Shadow devouring a human soul in person. It was like a thousand screams echoed in my soul. The pain and despair from the Shadows felt unnatural to me and this World.

"K-Kurogane..."

Fujihara looked up to me. I had no strength in my legs and was sitting on the floor next to him, feeling numb throughout my entire body.

"Y-you must go. T-the others are waiting."

I stare blankly at his words. The others. What others? Fujihara reached into his pocket and pulled out three pistol magazines.

"Here... you'll need them more than me."

Magazines... weapons. My mind came back to focus. The other barricade. I took the magazines and picked up my pistol, slotting in a fresh clip with some difficulty. My trembling still had not stopped.

"Go... I... i'll wait for a medic."

Fujihara pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning against the wall. For a meek looking kid who almost gotten eaten up by the enemy, he's holding out much better than me. In fact, he's holding out extremely well.

"But... what if another Shadow appears?"

I ask, and Fujihara pulled out a Glock 17.

"I still have this... Worst case is i'll have to put one in my head."

Fujihara laughed weakly.

"But-"

"I may be part of the diversion team... but i know how to fight."

I knew that he was forcing it. I bit my lip, seeing how he was determined to get me to go.

"... Alright, i'll send for a medic the moment i get to the others."

"Yeah... thanks."

I got to my feet and hurried on. But the moment i reached the stairwell, i saw that the Shadows had already gotten this far. I had no time waste, jumping onto the railing and sliding down while firing my rifle with my right hand and using my pistol in my left. My quick fire had managed to get most of of the Shadows off balance, sending them tumbling down the stairs. Despite looking like they are made of mist, the Shadows still acted like solid bodies. Well, they were still beings of this World so they still had certain parameters they had to work under. I slid off the railing, my boot colliding with a Shadow unfortunate enough to be at the end of the railing.

I pulled the trigger of my pistol at its head before heading off. I ejected the clip from my rifle, slotting in another one and continuing to press forward through the Shadows that filled this corridor. According to Yuki, since the diversion team was unable to do anything during the first Shadow hour, the number of NPCs consumed and turned into Shadows was high. Right now we were heavily outnumbered, probably twenty to one. Ducking under a Shadow's attack, i drew my knife and stabbed it in its stomach, following that with a few rounds from my rifle.

"Hey! Over here!"

I heard someone shout. I turned and saw the second barricade. Students bordering the hallway outside of a classroom waved over at me. There were about fifteen Shadows that stood between me and the barricade. I swallowed hard, trying hard to find the courage to press forward. My mind replayed the scene where Shiki fought. Graceful and elegant. Her movements seemed to play back in my mind, being relayed in my body. The more vivid the scene in my head, the better it seemed that my body could follow. This could work. I ran forward, not even sure of what i was doing. My body just ran with it. Firing my rifle as I ran, I jumped up to dodge an attack, my boots hitting the wall. I ran three, four steps along the wall with my finger on the trigger, before kicking off.

Throwing my feet forward, my feet slammed into another Shadow, pushing it down onto the floor. Ducking under a swing, i threw my legs forward into a slide used in baseball which i remembered from that time i was watching some NPCs practicing baseball, sliding my body across the floor and under the Shadows, firing my weapons all round as i stopped right before the barricade. I tumbled over the barricade, letting the other members take over as i took a breather. The machine gun mounts spewed out bullets like a rain storm, and it sounded like one too.

"Woah, you're really something, you know? Almost like it was out a movie."

One of the guys said, clearly impressed by what he saw. To be honest, i still can't believe i did all that. The more i imagined Shiki's movements, the more i was able to move my body like she did.

"So what are you doing out here? It's a death sentence to do what you just did all by yourself."

The boy led me into the classroom where i saw multiple students being treated with injuries. This barricade probably only has a third of their original fighting force left to hold back the Shadows.

"I was sent by the barricade upstairs to back you guys up."

I explained, thanking a medic who handed me a bottle of water to drink.

"By yourself?"

"My partner was nearly taken out by a Shadow. He's still upstairs but unable to move for the moment."

"I see."

The boy sighed, shaking his head. He pointed to two slightly injured students.

"You two, help with the ammunition."

The two students nodded, and despite their injuries, helped out with the carrying of ammunition to the machine gun nests outside the classroom.

"Are you in-charge?"

I ask as the guy grabbed a few rifle magazines off the teacher's desk and handed them to me.

"Not really. Our leader too a pretty bad hit from a Shadow and he's currently unconscious over there."

He pointed to a student laying on the floor in one corner with a medic changing the bandages around the head.

"Our current leader is over there. I'll take you to her now."

The boy led me to the corner of the classroom where a single figure sat on the ground, clutching onto a SG 550 Commando rifle with her head hung low. Her reddish brown hair tied into a ponytail and a pair of black headphones covering over her ears. This was their leader? The boy shook the girl, who looked up, her dark red eyes showing signs of stress and fatigue. She pulled her headphones off her ears, letting them rest around her neck. I could hear loud rock music still blaring through those headphones.

"What is it?"

"Sorry to disturb you, but this is... er..."

The boy turned to me and realized that he never got my name. More like i didn't introduce myself.

"I'm Kurogane, sent by the barricade upstairs."

The girl studied me for a moment, before getting to her feet.

"I see. We've lost communications with upstairs some time ago, so i was worried that this would be the end. Where are the rest of your squad?"

"I'm afraid i'm it."

The girl seemed a little surprised by that answer. I would be too if i were in her shoes. She closed her eyes, shaking her head in dismay.

"They sent only one person? What sort of reinforcement is that?"

"I've seen what Kurogane can do, and i'm sure that we can win."

The boy confidently said. The girl did not seem to trust what he said, and i don't blame her. What can a single person do? In all honesty, i'm not sure i could do what i just did all over again.

"... Alright. First off, give me a run-down of what's going on, we've gotten out radio destroyed when our first bunker got rushed by those damn Shadows."

"Shrewerz-san is drawing a large number of Shadows out into the open for the snipers to deal with. The upper floor barricade is holding the Shadows at the science lab, so all we need is to make sure the enemy doesn't get past this point."

"Which we have failed. We only have two machine guns and we can't concentrate our fire on one end without expecting our other side to get attacked."

The girl sighed. True, if they hadn't failed, i wouldn't need to fight the Shadows to get here. Right now this barricade was completely isolated and surrounded. With limited number of fighters, this would seem like a losing battle. However, there was still one factor that i haven't been able to figure out completely yet. Yuki. The leader of the Fort had taken her squad of elite fighters, numbering a total of twelve, straight into the heart of a giant mass of Shadows. That was the last i heard of her.

I would not like to think she sacrificed herself or got captured, and to be frank i don't think either is possible. If it was possible to get a message out to her... wait, i don't have a radio. I left it with Fujihara! Dammit! I cursed my own stupidity, but knew that i could stand here hating myself all night, or i could do something about this. I checked my ammunition level and took relief in knowing that i still had quite a bit left. I looked at the map layout of this floor of the school that had been rolled out on some of the tables left in the room. I could not help but smile when it dawned upon me. This could work.

"I need a team of your fighters."

I told the girl, who raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I'm going to take the fight to the Shadows."

The girl blinked a couple of times, surprised by what i said, before she burst out into laughter.

"You? Going to take the fight to them? Ha ha! that's rich! They say idiocy cannot be cured even in death, and maybe that's true! But i like it! We'll go with your plan. In times like these, we need crazy people like you. I'm Len. Amatsu Len. Good to meet you, taichou."

* * *

A/N: The second of my main OCs have made her appearance. And YES, i was watching Matrix and another Kung-fu movie while i was writing this chapter.

Sakamoto Shiki is actually Ryougi Shiki from Kara no Kyoukai from Type-Moon's work. Type-Moon is the same company who created the Tsukihime and Fate franchise. I love Kara no Kyoukai a LOT. Mainly because i like Ryougi Shiki. The voice actress of Shiki is Sakamoto Maaya, a very famous voice actress who did many voices such as Aeries from FFVII, Ciel Phantomhive from Kuroshitsuji, and my new favourite game girl, Lightning/Eclair Farron from FFXIII. Sakamoto Shiki is a character to honour Sakamoto Maaya and my fouvrite character that she did. I couldn't put Eclair in since Eclair isn't Japanese... or wait... i could make her a half-blood... that would be cool...

Another character from Kara no Kyoukai would be making her appearance. No, it isn't Touko. No, it isn't Azaka... though Azaka would make an interesting combination with Shiki. Think LAST chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_chapter 12_

_Against the Darkness_

Opening the window, i took a peek inside the classroom next to the barricade. At the moment, i had taken three other SSS2 members, Len included, out through the window of the classroom the second barricade was using. It was unfortunate that i couldn't bring another two along, but these three were the only ones willing to step out onto the thin ledge that lined the walls for us to creep over to the next class. Not a lot of people were daring to use a thin ledge two floors above the ground to cross classrooms.

The first barricade on the third floor was depending on this barricade to clear out the second floor in order to contain the outbreak of Shadows coming from the science lab. I don't know what the situation is on the ground floor, but i would have to trust that some other squads were there to take care of the situation. I dare not look down, since i was already losing all feeling to my legs from sheer nervousness. I didn't think walking on this thin ledge would actually frighten me this much. Climbing through the window into the next classroom, i sort of landed hard on my back.

"Ow!"

"Quiet! Do you want them to hear us?"

Len glared at me as she jumped through the window. Sorry i can't be as graceful as you. The other two SSS2 members climbed in and almost immediately readied their weapons. I guess they weren't part of the assault division for nothing.

"Lead on. It's your plan."

Len nudged me on. Sure, it was my plan, but even i wasn't sure on how well this would work. Creeping up to the door, i could see the Shadows lumbering towards the barricade while the machine gun placement tried to cut them down. At this moment, this barricade was running out of ammunition. They have two machine guns to guard one entire hallway and using each one to watch a different side was distributing what little fire-power they have.

This plan would allow the barricade to shift their machine gun placements to focus on one end. But it would also require the assaulting team to completely clear out the second floor corridor to the South stairwell where i came down from. Only then can we be sure that we have done our work. Len took out a strange cylinder from her belt, and seeing it for the first time made me think. Where have i seen that before?

"What's that?"

I ask, pointing at the thing Len just pulled out.

"This? It's a grenade. What else?"

"... Huh? ... Wait... grenade? ... GRENADE?"

Len immediately capped my mouth shut.

"Don't shout! Do you want them to hear us?"

"... Sorry."

Len sighed, releasing her hand off my mouth.

"But... does that actually work?"

I really can't believe they can make grenades. Well, since there are guns in this World, i guess grenades wouldn't be take far fetched.

"Want to see it for yourself?"

Len smirked, the kind of smirk that tells you that something extremely dangerous was going to happen and you would probably need to evacuate the area immediately. Len checked her watch, as though waiting for something, then nodded to the other assault members who were stationed at the other door. At the same time, they slid the doors open slightly and rolled their grenades through the small opening. Shouldn't they be running for cover? The explosions shook the ground and i actually shook my bones as well. However it was strange that the doors actually held. Weren't the explosions just outside these doors?

"Do you know that everything in this school regenerates at certain times?"

Len asked, grinning from ear to ear. Ah, Yuki did say something like that. Did that mean Len timed her grenades at exactly the same time as the regenerations? Just how long had they been fighting these things that they could even time something like that explosion so well? Something tells me that there was something else at work besides perfect timing.

"Let's go."

Len slammed the door open and rushed out into the smoke filled corridor. I pushed my questions about that explosions aside, rushing out after Len. The corridor was filled with smoke, but Len seemed to know her way around, rushing into the thick of the smoke and firing her weapon. I readied my rifle and charged in after her. The smoke was dense and was hard to breathe in. The smoke was starting to clear as we pushed our way through the hallway, cutting down the Shadows that stood before us. I noticed that the assault members were holding their weapons and moving in a way similar to military soldiers.

I had to wonder what sort of training did that colonel Shrewerz guy give to them. The first assault member stopped, using hand signals to tell us of something ahead of us. The second assault member rushed in, aiming his weapon around the corner at the stairwell, firing at the first enemy he spots. Len rushes in, giving covering support to the attack. I must say that i'm rather impressed, but really. Who actually gives students military training? I need to make a mental note to avoid that Shrewerz fellow no matter what.

"Let's go. Kurogane, stop day-dreaming and hurry up."

Len shouted. Sighing, i decided to push that thought aside for the moment. It wasn't important. I hope.

* * *

As the last Shadow disappeared, i started to relax, lowering my weapon. Len and the other two assault members were also letting down their guard, each trying catch their breaths. The last few Shadows were the most intensive of all the others. Mainly because the goal was so close to us that we felt each second was like a minute. We wanted it to end quickly, therefore pushing our bodies harder than normal. But at least for now, we can relax. For now. Len took out a walkie talkie from her belt, radioing in to the barricade we left behind that we were clear. One of the assault members dropped onto the floor against the wall to take a rest while the other checked his ammunition levels. As for me, i leaned against the wall, looking out of the window into the courtyard below.

"Looks like they're wrapping things up downstairs."

Len said, clipping her radio back onto her belt.

"Good. I was just running low on rounds."

One of the assault members sighed, slinging his rifle. As for me, i'm nearly out. Half of this clip left. I looked around the corridor of the third floor, seeing each and every single bullet hole that we made while fighting. This was the hallway i left Fujihara in. It seems like he was helped out by some medics after all. Wait. Fujihara. That reminded me. How were things at the first barricade?

"Amatsu-san, can you contact the first barricade?"

Len raised an eyebrow at that, but complied, taking out her radio once more.

"This is assault squad 5, come in barricade one."

Len waited for a reply, but received none. That was somewhat disturbing.

"... This is assault squad 5, come in barricade one. Can anyone hear me?"

This was really disturbing.

"AAHHH!"

The suddenly scream made me and Len turn, only to see the assault member who was sitting down being devoured by a Shadow.

"Holy shit!"

The second member aimed his rifle, but his rifle suddenly jammed. He looked down to his rifle, a fatal mistake as a second Shadow split off from the first, engulfing him in its dark mist. I jumped back, bringing up rifle up to aim. But they were still human! I couldn't shoot!

"Kill them! It's better to kill them than to let them become NPCs!"

Len shouted, aiming her rifle and shooting at her own team-mates. At that moment, i felt lost. Shooting your own comrades, your own people. It was... wrong. My heart pounded hard against my chest. I couldn't breathe, i couldn't think. My mind was blank. Killing your own. Blood. Better to kill them. They are useless. I am useless.

"Kurogane! Snap out of it!"

Len's voice made me look. More Shadows were appearing. Death, the end of life. An endless void. The darkness. No. I didn't want it. Don't let it touch me.

"No... NOOO!"

I couldn't think, my body just kept pulling the trigger. My ears went deaf. I could not hear the rapid fire of the gun, couldn't hear the shouts of Len. I couldn't even hear the sound of my gun going empty. I dropped my rifle, purely out of instinct, pulling out my pistol and firing away. I couldn't remember what i was screaming about. I couldn't remember what i did. All i knew was that my body kept shooting. It was as if my mind and soul had become detached from my body. But wasn't this the afterlife? Was there a body to be detached from? But i noticed something. A Shadow was coming on on Len from behind. She didn't notice, but i did. And yet i still could not control my body. Move dammit! Why won't i move? Len is going to get taken! If i don't do something-

_'You were always the kind one, looking out for everyone else even if it meant your own life. You haven't changed one bit, but that's the one thing that's great about you, Kou.'_

What? Who said-

"!"

I suddenly regained my body and my senses. But now wasn't the time to waste just thinking about that. I jumped at Len, pushing her aside, out of harms way. But that meant that i was the one in the Shadow's path. The dark mist swallowed me, my body started to feel cold and everything went black.


	13. Chapter 13

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 13_

_A Perfect World_

I opened my eyes, blinking at the scene before me. I was sitting at a dinner table. A familiar scene. Two familiar faces were sitting at the same table, quietly eating the breakfast that was on the table. Something about it was familiar, and yet i couldn't quite remember. Remember? Remember what? What was i doing a second ago?

"Shouldn't you be hurrying up? You're going to be late again."

The man at the table said, flipping through the newspaper he held in his hand while he continued to chew on his toast. I looked at my watch. Since when did i wear a watch like this? Ah, it's already eight. Crap! I'm late! I grab the toast on my plate, stuffing it in my mouth before making a dash for the front door without forgetting to grab my gear.

"Kou! Make sure not to trip over the steps again!"

The woman who sat at the table shouted from the dining room. That name. Kou. It felt familiar to me. Wait, it was me.

'Why can't you be more like your brother?'

What? What was that? A scene flashed before my eyes. A dark home. Blood.

Static.

I shook my head, returning my focus back to the door. That scene no longer there. What was that all about? I can't remember, but that scene was eerily familiar to me.

"Kou, what are you still doing here?"

"Hai hai, itekimasu!"

I rushed out of the door running down a neighbourhood that seemed somewhat familiar, and yet unfamiliar at the same time. My body knew what to do, but my mind felt like it was lost. Maybe i was still tired. I did play a lot of games the night before. Wait, did i?

"Gah! Best not to think of stupid things."

I ran with that piece of toast i grabbed in my mouth, trying to make the final dash to school. I turned the corner, and immediately came to a stop when i collided with someone. I hit the ground hard, my rear end feeling extremely sore. Dammit! What now?

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

I shout, looking at the person i collided with. A boy wearing the same school uniform as me was sitting in a daze, slightly out of it.

"Ah, mou~ My toast!"

I cried for my beloved bread that had fallen victim to the deepest blackest pits of dirt.

"Hey you! What are you going to do about this? My breakfast is now gone thanks to you!"

I shout at the boy, who somehow managed to snap out of his daze. He had quite a messy mop of hair, like he forgot to wash up in the morning.

"I-i'm sorry!"

He offered me a hand. A gesture that seemed somewhat familiar. Nevertheless, i took it. He easily pulled me to my feet, showing that he was stronger than he looks. He had a rather average look, but there was something about his eyes. I don't know what was it about them, but it seemed rather... interesting.

"Erm... i-is there anything?"

He asked, making me notice that i was leaning in close to stare at his eyes.

"A-ah, no, it's nothing. Sorry about that... next time watch where you're going."

I feel my face getting flushed. Dumb embarrassing moment!

"Ah! The time!"

I remembered that i was running late already! I took off without a second to waste, probably leaving that poor kid behind.

* * *

"Eh? That actually happened? What is that suppose to be?"

My friend, Mikoto, asked while leaning over my desk like a lazy dog.

"It sounds just like a gal-game setting. You even had the toast."

Nanako added.

"You know what a gal-game setting is like?"

I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"My brother plays it all day and he uses all of the terms associated with them. So naturally the rest of the family had to learn them to understand him."

Nanako explained, sighing as she shook her head in dismay.

"I bet you know what a gal-game setting is like, Kou-kun."

Mikoto smirked mischievously.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

Though i'm slightly more irked by the fact she called me 'Kou-kun'.

"You play all sorts of games. Anyway, tell us more about this morning's encounter! What was he like?"

Mikoto asked ecstatically, practically squealing out her words.

"What? He was... normal, i guess."

"Eh? That's all? Is it Touno-kun? I know he's been getting rather close to you recently. Oh, speak of the devil."

Mikoto sniggered as the tall, good-looking class president walked over to my desk with a smile. I always felt unnerved by the smile.

"Kurogane-san, today is your turn for cleaning duty."

Did he come all this way just to tell me that?

"Yeah, i know. Thanks."

I reply with a smile, not that i wanted to smile. Touno-kun nodded and walked away, probably off to talk with his guy friends.

"Ne ne, isn't Touno-kun also on duty today?"

"Ah, now that you mention it."

Mikoto just had to squeal even louder than before, making me slightly cringe.

"A-ano... K-Kurogane-san?"

I look up at the call of my name. Walking up to my desk was a familiar face. It was the boy from this morning.

"Oh... it's you."

"A-ah... i'm sorry about this morning."

Seeing him apologize like that made me feel rather guilty, since it was also partially my fault.

"I-it's fine."

"A-ano... h-here's something you replace your breakfast. It isn't much though."

He offered me a packet of yakisoba bread. Who eats this for breakfast? Nevermind, i guess he's sincere about it.

"T-thanks..."

He bowed and walked off with a slight smile. There was a slight pause, before Mikoto and Nanako swarmed over me.

"EH? K-Kou-kun, is that the boy you bumped into?"

"Y-yeah..."

"That's Katsuragi-kun from next door, isn't he?"

Nanako pressured me.

"I-i don't know..."

"How can you not know? His hair is a constant mess, but that hides his nearly flawless looks. Captain of the kendo team, and coming from THE Katsuragi zaibatsu (conglomerate)!"

Such an impressive guy coming from a rich family... walking to school?

"Rumours have it that he's looking for a wife by coming to this school! Normally so calm and soft-spoken, but when the time comes he can be so confident and cool-looking!"

"Mikoto, i think you have your facts mixed up. Zaibatsu? I wonder where you got that idea. You've probably been reading too many manga."

Nanako pointed out.

"Ara? Oh, sorry. Got it all mixed up. But Katsuragi is from a rather rich family and he is the pretty good at kendo, despite looking so meek. I think he was raised by his mother after his parents got divorced. Well, his only good trait is that he's kind."

Hmm... i see. Raised differently from normal. I guess some things in this World were just like that.

'You will never amount to anything!'

Another scene flashed before my eyes. A pain surged through my head as that scene flickered in and out of my mind. A blood stained room. Screams, madness.

'You are worthless!'

Static sounds, like a broken television set. Despair, sadness. Bloodied hands reaching out for me. Bloody tears streaming down the cheeks. Who? What?

"Kou-kun?"

I snapped back after hearing Mikoto call out my name.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh... i-it's nothing."

I was probably tired. Got to lay off the games.

* * *

With most of the floor cleaned, the chalkboard cleaned and the dusters been dusted, i picked up the garbage bin, needing to empty this out to the incinerator out in the courtyard.

"Ah, Kurogane-san, i'll deal with that."

Touno-kun said, taking the bin from my hands.

"A girl shouldn't be carrying heavy things."

He smiled.

'Why were you born a girl?'

Another scene flashed in my mind. Pain wrecked my mind. What was going on?

'Why are dressed up like a girl again? You're a boy, Kou, a boy.'

An image of a woman, face unrecognisable. Black lines drawn all over the image.

'Sister? You have no sister, Kou. You're my only child. My only son.'

Darkness, madness. Losing sanity. It isn't my fault. No. Stay away. Why are you doing this?

"Kurogane?"

"Huh?"

I came back to my senses. Touno looked slightly worried.

"Are you alright?"

"Er... yeah, i'm fine. Just slightly tired."

"Hmm... you still have kyuudou practice, right? Maybe you should skip it."

"N-no, i'm fine. Thanks for helping with the bin. I'll need to head to the clubroom."

Before Touno could say anymore, i grabbed my bag and left the classroom. I couldn't believe i had another one of those weird visions. I better go see a doctor. Still, i headed straight for the archery clubhouse.

"Yo, Kurogane. Glad you could join us, even if its this late."

The club's female captain greeted me in the locker room as i got changed into the kyuudou hakama and put on the chest protector.

"Sorry, taichou. I had clean-up duty."

"I heard. Kawahara-san dropped by to tell me."

Mikoto, huh, that girl sure loves to talk. But in this case it was beneficial to me. Maybe i should treat her to some crepe. I know she just loves that one crepe van that's parked in the nearby park every saturday.

"The competition is soon, and we need you to get as much practice as you can. You're our best member, after all."

"Taichou... that's too much. You know better than anyone that if Murosaki-san didn't quit, he would be the one leading the team."

The captain sighed, shaking her head while we walked out of the locker room. Most members were practising their shots, while some others sitting back and watching, or talking amongst themselves. The captain and i walked along the back of the dojo, avoiding all of the other groups of people.

"That kid is a troublesome one. Never listening to others. Well, at least you're still around."

The captain slapped me on the back rather hard, making me stumble slightly. My stumble had caused quite a loud sound, making all eyes turn on me. Oh great, here it comes-

"Ah, it's Kurogane-senpai!"

"It's true! Kurogane-senpai!"

The younger kouhai were all excited when they noticed i was there. This is why i don't like making so much noise when i come here. I gave them a slight wave, and they all exploded into squeals of delight. It really was distracting.

"Got to hand it to you, Kurogane, for some odd reason you're always popular amongst the girls even though you're pretty enough to be attracting all the guys. Do you have some secret pheromone secretion?"

"T-taichou, you know that sounds like i'm some sort of planet or bug? And stop sniffing me!"

The captain roared out in laughter, slapping me harder on the back.

"Ha ha ha! Sorry about that. But really, you have the cool beauty feel about you. And whenever you shoot your arrows, the peanut gallery always goes nuts."

"I don't know if that should be a compliment."

"Just take it as it is."

I sigh as i take up my bow and walked over into position. The distant target seemed so small, and i didn't know if my condition today would affect my shots. Breathing in slowly, i raised the bow and arrow, drawing it as i lowered down to eye level. Calm breathing. Everything seemed to be slow. Nothing could be heard. All was silent.

'You can't do it.'

I released the arrow when a sudden intrusive thought barged into my head. The arrow hit the target square-on, leading to a loud screaming of joy from the people behind me.

'Why aren't you perfect?'

Another intrusive thought. Pain wrecked my head. I felt weak in the knees and soon collapsed to the floor.

"Kurogane?"

"Kya! Kurogane-senpai!"

Shouts and screams echoing in the distance. My entire body felt numb. Concerned kyuudou members all rushed to my side. Their faces seemed blurry and unfocused. Words from their mouths made no sound. Everything seemed so distant.

'Are you really fine with this?'

No. I'm not fine with it. Something inside of me was stirring, unsettled. It was telling me that this wasn't right. Something was wrong.

'You can ignore it.'

I can't. It is something i cannot ignore. This pain, this sadness. This was something that was so forceful that it was unavoidable.

'Then so be it.'

"... Ku... ga... Kuro... ne... Kuroga... Kurogane... Kurogane!"

The voice of the captain slowly became recognizable as my mind came back to me. I blinked a couple of times, before slowly sitting up, dispersing the worried crowd of people a little.

"Are you alright, Kurogane?"

The captain asked. I closed my eyes slowly to recollect my thoughts before nodding.

"Yeah... i just... i think i was too tired."

"If you're not well then you should have said so. Don't need to push yourself so hard, especially with the competition so close. Why not take the rest of the day off and rest. That's not a request, by the way."

The captain narrowed her eyes at me and i could only laugh weakly back. Really... what's wrong with me today?

* * *

"Tadaima."

I said as i stepped back into my house.

"Ara, okairi. You're back early. Did something happen?"

Mother came walking in from the kitchen as i was taking off my shoes.

"N-no... Nothing happened."

I lied, grabbing my kyuudou gear to head upstairs. But mother suddenly pulled my sleeve to stop me. Pulling my sleeve. Blood stained hands. Clawing at my neck. I shook the image from my mind.

"You're not telling me something, aren't you? You always clench your fists and look away when you lie."

Do i always do that?

"It's nothing, really."

"It's a boy, isn't it?"

"N-no. I don't have time for such things."

"So it is. Wait till your father hears about this."

"It isn't! I already said that i'm fine! Why do you have to be so persistent in this matter?"

"Kou, i'm your mother. I only want to make sure you're alright. After all, you're only a girl."

A girl. Only a girl. That sentence resonated deeply within me. Why? Why was it so? Only a girl.

'Why are you a girl?'

That bloodied scene. A strong grip around my neck, choking the life out of me. I yanked my sleeve away from mother. Her face was being overlapped by blood. Everything was going red.

'Why can't you be more like your brother?'

Death, reaching out for me. No, i don't want to die. No... no...

"NOOO!"

The entire world seemed to be washed away by darkness. Everywhere i look around me, i only saw darkness. I look at myself. I was wearing biker gloves, i was wearing a different school uniform. No. This was what i was wearing originally. I remembered. I am part of the SSS2. I had died a long time ago. I fought against the Shadows and ended up being devoured by a Shadow while saving Len.

'Are you sure you want to leave?'

That voice. That same one who mocked me many times before.

"... Would you let me leave if i said so?"

I question, to which voice merely chuckled.

'That is up to you. But would you really want to leave such a happy lifestyle? You had friends, a loving family, and most importantly, you had a place and purpose. Would you trade it all for that life of hardship and fighting?'

"... I don't know who you are, or how you get your facts, but i'll tell you this... I. DON'T. GIVE. A. DAMN. I had forgotten all about my past life, so why should i care about a loving family or a purpose in life? My purpose is something that i make of myself! I don't need some creepy shadow to tell me how to live my life!"

'I see. You've already made your choice then.'

"Of course!"

I confidently said. Then i noticed a person appearing from the darkness. His messed up hair and dark eyes seemed to smile at me.

'I always knew that you would say that. You always looked forward to what you could do and never once looked back, even if it was an illusionary World. It may be due to the fact that you had no past to look back upon, but it is a trait that i like. Go, your friends await you.'

Katsuragi smiled, gesturing towards a small door that appeared behind him.

'Go now, and remember that this is the choice you made. Walk forward and have no regrets, Kurogane Kou.'

* * *

A/N: Yes, Kou is a girl. No, Kou isn't a guy exclusive name. Yes, the World that Kou enters when devoured by the Shadow is different from Yuri's.

My theory of what happens when the Shadow devours a person is that the soul enters a illusion in which they would live a 'perfect' life, something that they never experienced when they were alive.


	14. Chapter 14

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 14_

_Cornered_

"Kurogane!"

I opened my eyes, staring up to the worried face of Len.

"Hey."

I smile.

"Don't 'hey' me! Why did you have to go do something so stupid?"

Len shouted in my face. My ear drums hurt a little.

"You don't have to shout. I'm fine."

"You aren't fine! You nearly got devoured by a Shadow!"

I then felt a couple of drops on my cheeks. Looking up, i saw that Len was crying. Her tears falling down onto my face. I reached out, wiping her tears.

"There's no need to cry. I'm not going anywhere."

"W-who's crying? I'm not crying!"

Len jumped back, probably surprised by what i did as evident by her blushing expression. I sat up, rubbing the back of my head where a lump had formed. I guess i took a pretty bad fall.

"What happened?"

I ask, getting to my feet. Looking over to the side, i saw the two bodies of the other assault members. Bullet holes in their bodies and heads indicated that Len must have really wasted her bullets on them. But at least they don't look like they had converted.

"The Shadows all of a sudden disappeared after you got devoured."

Len explained, picking up her rifle.

"... You didn't shoot me."

I noticed that i didn't have any wounds on me besides the scratches i had before i passed out.

"I ran out of bullets."

Len muttered, turning away from me. I knew she was lying, but chose not to say anything. I smiled, picking up my rifle and walked over to Len.

"Thanks."

"Wh-what are you thanking me for?"

"Just felt like saying it."

I replied with a slight chuckle, making Len slightly even more flustered and red in the face.

"Alright, let's go check up on the first barricade."

The two of us hurried over towards the first barricade, only to see a scene of utter chaos. A large number of the students were either dead, or being devoured by Shadows. This wasn't a scene for little kiddies to be watching. An injured Kyou was shooting at the Shadows while Shiki was out front slashing without pause though her movements were beginning to show signs of fatigue. I ran over to Kyou, grabbing the injured assault member to cover.

"Y-yo, Kurogane _*cough*_. You're looking well."

Kyou smirked, rubbing the blood from her mouth.

"What happened?"

I ask, tearing at my sleeve and using that to bandage a pretty nasty wound on Kyou's abdomen.

"Those Shadows... they suddenly- GAHH!"

Kyou screamed out in pain as i tightened the bandage.

"Sorry."

"N-no... it's alright. Anyway, those Shadows suddenly appeared from our flank. I thought tha barricade downstairs was wiped out. But since you came running, i guess not."

"We cleared the corridors and the stairwell, but they reappeared again from nowhere."

I explained, tearing my other sleeve to bandage Kyou's leg that had a gash the size of my fist. These Shadows were far more aggressive than before.

"They must be multiplying somewhere in this building besides the science lab. Looks like we'll need to abandon this post."

That was something i did not want to hear. But it was probably the best solution.

"Amatsu, can you relay that order to the barricade downstairs?"

I turn to Len who did not hesitate in giving that order through her radio. I peer around the corner, seeing Shiki still fighting.

"... Sakamoto! Get back!"

I shouted, and Shiki glanced my way, giving a nod before jumping back. The remaining students all retreated as Len and i gave them covering support. But soon i was out of ammunition.

"Not in a time like this!"

"Kurogane! Use mine!"

Kyou tossed me her M16A2 rifle. I caught it and immediately brought its aim at the Shadows. This rifle was larger, and its recoil was heavier than my previous rifle. But i remembered how Kyou use this rifle to fight. Using that image, my body aligned itself to mirror that stance, and found that i was more stable firing in Kyou's stance than i was in mine. Shiki slung Kyou's arm around her shoulder, helping the wounded member towards the South stairwell. Len and i fired a few more rounds before turning back and running to join the rest in the escape.

Out of the fifteen members from the first barricade, only five, including Kyou and Shiki, were alive. Of the twenty from the second barricade, ten were still able to move about freely, while the other ten were too injured or dead. With only seventeen people in total, i had to wonder about our chances of getting away from the horde of Shadows that were still on our trail. What happened while i was devoured, i couldn't remember it too well but i am sure i would not want to go through another phase like that. However through that process, i came to understand a few things. In particular about myself.

"Go, go, go!"

Len urged them to pick up the pace, though the injured were slow to move quickly, which forced Len, myself, and seven others to keep firing our weapons at the Shadows.

"More Shadows out in the open!"

I turn around, spotting more Shadows appearing from the courtyard and trying to corner our group. This wasn't good.

"Tch, Kurogane! Give me some support!"

Len shouted, throwing aside her rifle, reaching behind her and pulling out two pistols. Brandishing a USP Expert and a FN Five-seveN USG, Len rushed straight at the enemy with her headphones back over her ears and blasting loud music. That reckless idiot-

"The rest of you, guard the injured! Amatsu and i will clear a path!"

I shout to the others before giving chase to Len.

"Kurogane! Here!"

Shiki shouted. I turned just in time to catch what Shiki tossed to me. Which appeared to be a sword. Her sword? I look to Shiki, who only nodded and went back to aid the others. I had no idea how to use a sword, especially something like this old looking sword. But gripping onto the sword, i could only hope that i wouldn't need to use this. I turned back and ran in to aid Len, but what i saw when i got there was something that made me stop and stare in wonder and awe. The way Len moved made me actually wonder if she needed my support.

Len twisted her hands and twirled her body in fluid movements, firing consecutive rounds as she continued to spin and turn to dodge enemies and place them in the aim of her guns. I'm pretty sure such moves were in movies. It was almost like watching a graceful dance, if it weren't for the fact that she's shooting pistols as she moved, and that she was blasting loud music into her ears. Shiki, with her graceful sword skills, and Len with her akimbo pistol gun-fu style of fighting were something that felt ingrained in me.

My mind was somehow able to vividly visualize each of their movements bit by bit. Each turn they made, each twist of their body, ever step, each swing of an arm, every single part could be replayed in my head. The more vivid and number of times i replay the scene in my head, the more my body seemed to be itching to move like the image. I look down at the sword Shiki handed to me. Gripping onto its hilt made my body feel a strange tingle. I drew the blade slightly, staring at my own reflection in its steel surface. This sensation. I know this sensation. I used a sword before. But where? I sensed danger and immediately side-stepped, just as a Shadow crashed its giant arms into the ground. The spot i was just standing at was now a small crater.

The Shadow raised its arms for a second round, and instinctively i got a stance. My body and the sword were perpendicular to the Shadow, my right leg stuck out and pointing at my attacker. The sword at my left hip, my right hand gripping onto the hand. Just as the creature brought its hand down, my body reacted, drawing the blade extremely quickly that even i couldn't follow my own hands, but within a second the sword was sheathed once more. The Shadow's arm suddenly became detached, falling harmlessly to the ground. This style of movement. I know of it. My body knew of it. This was probably something i learnt while i was still alive. The Shadow tried to raise its other hand to attack, so i shifted back into stance. The second attack came, but met the same fate as the first. A clean slice. Or so i thought.

The cut was less than the first, allowing the Shadow to lunge at me with its entire body. I jumped back, avoiding a direct contact with the Shadow. This technique of mine wasn't perfect. It could not cut deep enough to kill, but it was enough to sever arms. This was probably due to my lack of strength behind my swings. Drawing the blade completely, i began to visualize the movements made by Shiki. My body soon synchronized itself to the images in my mind, following Shiki's swift movements and cut down the enemy. However it soon became apparent that there was a risk to using this. Falling to my knees, i gripped my abdomen as pain surged throughout my entire body.

The one thing about using this visualizing technique to copy moves is that my body wasn't used to actually doing such extreme movements. I wasn't trained to fight like Shiki, so just by copying her moves alone had pushed my muscles beyond what it was prepared for. This wasn't good. Looking up, i could see several Shadows now turning their attention to me. I drew my pistol and took aim while i clutched my abdomen with my free hand. The pain was too painful, causing my aim to be unsteady. My breathing was shallow and hard, my vision was losing focus.

"I... just... have to... shoot!"

I pulled the trigger without caring whether i hit my targets or not. But with each shot, i felt my body getting weaker and weaker. Was this how it was going to end?

'Why weren't you born a boy?'

Was this all i could amount to?

'You're worthless!'

Why couldn't i do better?

'Do it again till you get it perfect!'

No... This was not how it was going to end. I would not allow it.

_'"Attention all SSS2 members in the courtyard, get down."'_

A sudden voice shouted over the announcement system, instinctively i flattened myself onto the ground, just as the sound of loud gunshots echoed from the rooftops.

"Snipers?"

I thought that the sniper division were stationed elsewhere?

"BAKUHOU!"

A familiar voice shouted, making me turn. But before i could see who said that, a giant tank-round-like bullet flew past me, causing a giant explosion to erupt behind me.

"Itetetete... What was that?"

"Gya ha ha ha ha! That was one big success! Wait till the guys back in Guild hear about this!"

I look up, seeing a laughing Yuuko standing next to a giant machine that resembled a cannon. It was large, nearly the size of a mini-van.

"Ara, Kuro-chii, what are you doing on the floor?"

Yuuko asked innocently, noticing that i was still on the ground.

"... What do you think?"

"Ah, must be the Bakuhou. Like it? It's my latest invention!"

Yuuko laughed while slapping her machine proudly.

"I thought you couldn't make weapons if you don't have the memories?"

I ask, getting to my feet. It seems like my muscles were starting to repair itself already.

"Oh yeah, you can't. But as long as we can work out the physics and mechanics of a device, we can still make it. Somehow."

"... Doesn't sound convincing. Besides, what sort of name is that?"

Bakuhou. Literally translated as explosive cannon, or exploding cannon, which ever way you look at it, it was clearly a very ominous name.

"Ah, well, it got it's name after it exploding for the fiftieth time. Yaa~ it was sure a hassle, being caught in that explosion and dying fifty times. But! I finally got it working!"

Yuuko laughed it off. Really, who can laugh after saying they died fifty times just to make this ridiculous cannon work? You won't be finding me doing the same.

"... Either way, thanks. If you didn't come in time, we would all be devoured."

"Iya~ i didn't do much. You should be thanking the one who brought all of this together."

Yuuko pointed to the side where a whole new contingent of SSS2 members were approaching from. Led by Yuki, these SSS2 members swiftly took out any remaining Shadows while assisting the injured away from the scene. The leader of Fort walked over to me, shouldering her rifle.

"I heard you took quite a beating, Kurogane."

"Yeah... I think i know why being devoured is such a scary thing."

"Good. Oh, you dropped this. Gen is going to be furious with you when he finds out what you did."

Yuki handed me back my rifle, which reminded me that Gen was the type of person to fuss about handling weapons carefully. Oh great. Now i'm going to get an earful.

"... Thanks, Yuki. For coming just in time. Your plans really did work out well."

Yuki raised an eyebrow at me, before sighing.

"I would never take credit for something that wasn't my idea. The person you should be thanking is Minami-chan. She's over by Fort if you want to thank her yourself. If you're heading there, take this file to her."

"Minami?"

That name did not sound familiar to me. Was it someone new?

"Ah, Minami-chii. She's a tiny kid and absolutely the cutest!"

Yuuko squealed out in delight, practically dancing and twirling about.

"Anyway, she's probably the smartest strategist we have, but since she looks so cute and small, no one takes her seriously."

Yuuko in particular, as i can see from the way she describes this Minami person. Still, the smartest strategist? Why have i not seen or heard of this person before now? This sort of person that even Yuki would acknowledge.

"Minami... huh, i wonder what sort of person is she?"


	15. Chapter 15

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 15_

_Eagle Counter-Offensive_

"G-gao."

Huh? 'Gao'? What the hell is this girl talking about? I had walked all the way back to Fort, looking for this Minami-person. But the first person i meet the moment i opened the door to the staff meeting room where Minami was supposed to be in did not meet my expectations. Seeing this blonde girl standing there, rather nervous and shaking in her shoes.

"C-can i help you?"

She asked, not making much eye contact with me. What, do i look like an ogre to you? No, i'm not going to eat you up. In fact, i don't think you look very appetizing no matter which way i cook you... oh great, just what the hell am i thinking about? I think that nearly devoured state nearly killed me really messed up my brains.

"A-ano~... i-is there something on my face?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing... Erm... are you Minami-san?"

"Eh? O-oh, you're looking for Minami-chan. S-she's over there."

The girl pointed to the table in the middle of the room where a bunch of maps were layed out. Bending over the maps while tip-toeing on a stepping stool was a very small kid. Okay, small was somewhat of an exaggeration. Or maybe not.

"Thanks."

"G-gao."

Really... what is with that 'gao'? And then there was still that medic i met before... 'uguu'? Was i missing some weird sound convention somewhere? The blonde girl ran out of the room after that, making me wonder if i had done something wrong. I walk over to the table and to the small girl.

"... Minami-san?"

"Hahii!"

The girl screamed out as i tapped her shoulder. Oh great, another one. Not to mention a screamer too. The surprised girl somehow or rather managed to cause all of the maps and equipment on the table to go into disarray, making one large mess. Ah... this is going to get ugly.

"Ite-te-te-te... don't creep up on me- KYAA! The maps!"

The girl immediately scrambled to get everything back into order, though her flailing attempts were somewhat pitiful, and amusing, to watch. Sighing, i walked over and helped her reorganize the maps and equipment.

"Ah-ha-ha... t-thank you."

The girl smiled, but the moment she actually noticed that i was someone she had never seen before, she immediately jumped back, grabbing a large hat and covering her head with it.

"I-i-"

"I (boku)?"

What an odd thing for a girl to say.

"I-i didnothingwrongatall!"

And she said that sentence a little too quickly!

"... Erm... Minami-san? I'm not an NPC."

"Eh?"

She looked at me once more, in particular my uniform, before laughing a little.

"A... aha ha ha... eh... sorry."

"That's alright, it happens quite often."

It doesn't, but who cares at the moment. The excuse works well enough.

"E-eto... Y-you're Kurogane... san, right?"

"Hm? You heard of me?"

"A-ah, hai! Y-Yuki-san often talks about you... i-in a good way!"

The way she stutters and volume goes up and down with her words seemed pretty interesting. And cute. I think i know why Yuuko referred to her as 'cute'.

"Na-nani?"

She looked up to me with her large beaming innocent eyes. No! Too much innocence! Too much purity! I feel as though beams of light were shooting out of her eyes and melting me! W-what is this creature?

"F-for the time being... can you look away?"

She looked slightly puzzled by my request, but obliged by closing her eyes. DAMMIT! That's making things worse!

"Y-you can look now."

"O-okay."

It was pointless to tell her why i needed her to look away. In the end i would just have to endure being beamed to death by this lovely creature.

"Ah, Yuki wanted me to give you this."

I handed Minami the report that Yuki gave to me.

"T-thank you!"

Minami took the report and flipped through it. Her expression changed the moment she took the report, becoming more serious and focused. It was a rather interesting change to observe as Minami took the report into full consideration and started to use markers to draw out lines and write out sentences on the map before picking up a radio nearby and calmly giving out directions. Master strategist, huh, i guess she really did live up to that title.

"... I guess i'll head back out into the field."

Although my injuries had healed over, i wasn't all that too confident that i would be too much help on the field. Slinging my rifle, i turned to go.

"K-Kurogane-san! P-please wait!"

I stopped and turned just as Minami ran towards me, tripped over nothing and crashed into me. I felt as though the wind got knocked out of me by her powerful spear header.

"Hawawawa! S-so sorry!"

"I-it's alright... i'm fine..."

I'm probably not fine, seeing as how i'm clutching onto my stomach as i'm keeling over from that attack.

"S-so? Is there anything else you need?"

I look to Minami as i tried to cover up my pain expression. Judging by how Minami became frightened when she saw my expression, i imagine i must be putting up quite a scary scowl.

"A-ano... i... i would like to ask Kurogane-san to... to accompany me."

"Me? To where?"

"Hahii! I'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry!"

Er... no, i'm not scolding you. Really, is my face that bad?

"I-i need to see what is going on out in the field."

Minami explained. I looked at the clock in the room. Just ten minutes left till the Shadow hour would be over. I guess there wouldn't be much left for me to do even if i did go out into the field by now. Besides, Yuki and Yuuko were more than well experienced in fighting. They would be done in no time. I thought back to Len, the temporary leader of the second barricade had gone off to rest with Kyou and Shiki, having been injured herself during her little 'dance'.

"Alright. So where are going to?"

Minami looked extremely happy that i agreed to accompany her. Ah, that beaming face is really too much!

"To the rooftop! I need to use the snipers for a while."

* * *

"The Sniper division should be led by Asakura-san."

Minami told me as we made our way across the open field towards the school buildings from the staff building. Minami had equipped herself with a H&K MP5 sub-machine gun as well as a short barrelled pump shotgun. Both were small in size and somehow really suited her image. I wonder who her fitter was.

"Asakura? I thought the leader of the sniper division was Ryusei-san?"

"Ryusei-san is the overall leader, but the squad i'm looking for is led by Asakura-san, Ryusei-san's second in command. Or something like that."

Second in command, huh. I've only seen Ryusei Suou once while i was having lunch in the cafeteria. The silent red haired sniper was small in size and silently ate by herself in a corner of the cafeteria. I only knew she was Ryusei Suou because Yuki told me that Suou always wore a crystal pendant around her neck, and also because later i saw a couple of SSS2 members call her that. I had wonder what sort of second in command would be like if they had a leader like Suou.

The number of Shadows that we encoutered were few and were quickly dispatched off by Minami and myself. Although she can handle the weapons pretty well, it was rather frightening to see Minami use her weapons without a proper aim. Her bullets were quite accurate, but her arms flailing about while she actually fires the weapons was something that really frightened me. Maybe she shouldn't be shooting anything at all. The two of us finally reached the door to the roof on the top floor of school complex A, and took some time to let Minami catch her breath.

"I-i'm okay."

Minami wheezed as i shot another Shadow with my pistol. She walked over to the roof access door and knocked on it in sequence. The door opened and Minami was pulled through by a couple of arms. Firing off a few more rounds, i ran through the door after Minami just as the door was shut closed.

"Minami-san, we've been expecting you."

One of the snipers said, offering a hand to Minami, who took it to stand to her feet. The one thing i noticed about these snipers was that they each wore a dark cloak over their uniforms. Almost like some sort of secret evil cult group wishing to summon a demon or something. This squad of snipers consisted of five snipers and two spotters. One of the snipers walked up to Minami, pulling the hood of the cloak to reveal a young girl with slightly longer than shoulder length dark blue hair, her bangs completely covering over her right eye though her blue left eye was rather fierce itself.

"Shino."

"Ah, Asakura-san. You got my message."

Asakura nodded slightly. So much for a social person. I guess if the leader was like Suou, the second in command would be something like that as well.

"Well, i-i'll be taking command h-here. Y-you don't mind?"

Asakura shook her head, nodding to the other snipers who all got back into positions around the roof. Minami took out her map and laid it out onto the roof floor, unclipping her radio as well and observing with binoculars the situation together with the spotters.

"Asakura-san, box the Shadows at courtyard B towards courtyard A."

Minami relayed the order, and Asakura nodded, bringing out her sniper rifle. It should be noted that Asakura is using as a sniper rifle, is extremely long and large. It was way taller than Asakura herself, about two metres long in total and Asakura herself would only be a hundred a sixty centimetres tall. What's more, the size of the cartridge and the bullet casings told me that that rifle was no ordinary rifle. That was an anti-tank rifle.

Asakura set up her rifle on bi-pod attached to the barrel of the gun, aiming through her scope at the courtyard below. It did not even take a second from when she first set up to when she pulled the trigger. The gunshot from the gun sounded more like an explosion itself than an actual rifle shot. It was like a tank was firing rounds instead of a gun. But that sort of gun seemed to work.

"Kurogane-san, would you mind helping out?"

Minami asked without even looking my way. I guess she entered her 'strategist' mode.

"Sure. Hand me one of those radios and i'll be right down-"

"I mean use a sniper gun."

One of the spotters walked over to me with a rifle in hand. Handing to me the Barrett M82, the spotter nodded and silently left. What did you nod for? I checked the rifle, finding some difficulties in handling such a gun for the first time. I look over to Asakura, the lead sniper firing her rifle and reloading as swiftly and smoothly as possible. Her hand movements seemed to glide across the rifle, never pausing, never stopping. A strange tingling sensation shot through my spine. Perhaps i could do it do, that was at least what my mind was saying. I don't know why i thought of it, nor did i care.

I walked over to the railing of the roof, my mind fully visualizing the movements that Asakura made. My hands seemed to move on its own as my mind replayed what Asakura did over and over again. Each movement of hers was matched by my own. Setting up the rifle, reloading the rifle, turning off the safety and getting into position. Lining up my sight, i spot the nearest Shadow. Without hesitation i pulled the trigger. The recoil on the anti-material rifle was certainly a powerful thing that should not be under-estimated.

However i kept my focus, picking off the Shadows one by one. The large gathering of Shadows slowly moved towards the next courtyard, all according to Minami's plan. Still, what was a large number of Shadows doing here anyway? Using our rifles, we herded the Shadows out of the current courtyard and onto the next one. We got up from our positions, running to the other side of the roof to get into new positions.

"Thin out their numbers."

Minami ordered. The snipers all silently carried out their orders, not a single person saying a word as they took their shots.

"Goudatera-san, onegai."

Minami spoke through her radio.

_'"I'M NOT GOUDATERA! My name is 'KUROI SHINDA'!"'_

The loud reply came through, making me lose my aim slightly. Goudatera? What an amazing name. Really, sounds a lot like a Yakuza name. And the other name, Kuroi Shinda? Black dead? That made no sense whatsoever. Especially as a name.

"Just go."

Minami in her strategist mode was somewhat scary. Her voice was cold and emotionless, her eyes were so fixated on the maps that she did not blink even once. If that wasn't scary, i don't know what is. Just not too long ago she was acting like a frightened rabbit, and now look at her, barking orders without batting an eye, ordering people who hold guns that could tear an armoured tank apart were listening to her every word without question. Just how messed up can this World be?

"... Huh?"

I notice something... i'm not quite sure what it is, but it is something. A giant... robot. A giant robot was charging in from the side, blasting a giant gun and spewing missiles from launchers on its back.

"... Gundam?"

What sort of weapon is that? That isn't allowed! I thought they could only create something from their memories? Since when is that giant robot allowed?

"Kurogane-san, i need you to go down to help Goudatera-san in clearing up the rest. Yuki-san should be heading there too."

I placed the sniper rifle down and grabbed my assault rifle that i placed next to me while i was using the sniper gun. But then i noticed Asakura getting up as well.

"... I'll go... too."

Minami did not seem to object, so i guess she could do whatever she wanted.

"Alright, but do you have a weapon-"

Without another word, Asakura pulled out a rather old looking rifle. A semi automatic M1 Garand rifle. I wouldn't really call that a gun for fighting Shadows, but i guess she would be comfortable with it.

"... Okay, let's go."


	16. Chapter 16

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 16_

_Explosive End_

It was slightly unnerving to be working with this silent girl, but her skills were no doubt first rate. Even with an older make of rifle, her rate of fire and accuracy did not waver. One thing that i noticed was that she placed the en-bloc clips for the rifle in-between her fingers. Each time the clip is ejected when empty, she quickly snaps another clip into the rifle. This allows her to quickly reload, as well as fire as much as she wants without worry.

Asakura bent backwards as a Shadow swung a claw at her, and as she flipped back, her rifle fired a few rounds before she rolled back to her feet. However it soon became apparent that the number of clips she carried for her rifle was limited. Tossing aside her Garand, she drew another rifle from her cloak. Which begs the question, just where is she pulling those guns out from? Is there some magical portal hidden in her cloak that allows her store weapons? This isn't some anime with a tsundere girl shouting 'shut up! shut up ! shut up!'.

Asakura's new rifle was a bolt action springfield. Each shot she made needed her to extract the empty shell casing and chamber the next round by pulling on the bolt lever on the side of the rifle. However as before, it did not seem to slow her down at all. It was just like before, back on the roof with her large anti-tank rifle. Her hand movements were fast, fluid and sharp. Not a single wasted movement. Ejecting the clip from my rifle, i slapped another in and continued to fire at the Shadows. We cleared the path all the way down to the courtyard, where the giant robot was still blasting that giant gun that looked more like a muzzle of a tank. Seriously though, Gundam?

"Kurogane, Asakura. Good to see that you're both alright."

I turned to see Yuki coming up to us. Her group of fighters formed a line and were taking out the rest of the Shadows, so there really wasn't much for Asakura and myself to do.

"I heard you met Minami-chan."

"A-ah... Yeah. She's erm... quite the strategist."

Yuki smiled at that, nodding in agreement.

"Yes she is. Whenever it comes down to strategies, we can always rely on her. However since it took us some time to actually wake her up, we lost quite a few members to the Shadows."

"... Wake her?"

Something felt odd about that sentence.

"Even though she's the same age as us, she still has the tendencies of a child. She falls straight to sleep at nine o'clock."

That did not sound like a professional strategist, but some how i can see Minami actually falling asleep at that time. Another explosion caught my attention. That giant robot suddenly had a giant explosion coming out from its back, and the cockpit opened, letting a small sized girl climb out whilst coughing and gagging from all of the smoke. Having bright orange hair that stood up spiked in one direction, it looked like this girl had the explosion occur right in her face.

"Erm... who's that?"

I point at the tiny girl, who wore the SSS2 female uniform, but also wore the male's blazer, albeit one size too big as she rolled up the sleeves.

"That? That's Goudatera Takako. She's part of Guild, but prefers to go on a rampage on the frontlines. Still, unless Yuuko gives her permission, Takako is forced to leave her DAR 487 behind."

"DAR?"

"... That gundam looking thing."

Yuki pointed to that giant smoking robot. Ah, so i wasn't the only one to think that it looked like a gundam.

"... But how do you actually create something like that? I don't think anyone would have any memories of that in their former life."

"No, they wouldn't, Kuro-chii."

Yuuko smiled, walking up to me. Yuuko had taken off the top half of her work overalls, tying the sleeves around her waist. Only a single thin white singlet was preventing her from being completely topless, and that singlet wasn't much. Have some shame, woman!

"That robot is something that took years to make. We couldn't do something like a fully functional robot, so we took parts from other vehicles and modified them to look like a robot. See the legs? They run on tank treads, not actually walking. The hands are just large remote controllable arms that you can find in factories. The gun is from a tank and the cockpit is modelled from a plane's cockpit."

"So why does it look like a gundam?"

"Ga ha ha ha ha! I put that on myself! Adds nice flare, doesn't it?"

No it doesn't. In the first place, who would make a giant robot?

"But why gundam?"

"Preference, i guess. You should know, if you think of giant robots, it has to be a gundam!"

"Ha... wait, a plane? A tank? You have those?"

If they had those, why didn't they use them?

"Oho? Kuro-chii, you're interested in them? Good! Very good! Ga ha ha ha! Unfortunately, we don't have planes. But we do have tanks! Too bad i can't use them since they still tend to explode."

"... I think i'll pass."

As usual, Yuuko and her crazy experiments. She can create tanks, but they explode. How reliable was that? What's more is that Yuuko is the leader of Guild, the place incharge of making weapons for the rest of the SSS2! I can't believe that she can still mess about like this despite the responsibility.

"Ah! Boss! I need help with moving DAR 487."

The girl known as Goudatera Takako walked over to us, and at that moment, i could not help but stare at the actual height of this girl. Sure, Minami was short, but this girl was... shorter...

"... Chi-sai (small)"

At that moment, i heard something snap.

"EH? WHO WAS IT WHO SAID THAT?"

Takako snapped, her voice nearly deafening me.

"... Shut up."

Asakura said with her voice nearing a dangerous tone. Takako turned her attention to Asakura, glaring at the sniper while trying to tip-toe to make herself be the same height as Asakura.

"YOU TALKING TO ME?"

"Okay, okay, enough with the loud voice, Takako."

Yuuko said, restraining Takako by grasping onto the smaller girl's shoulders. Judging by the way Takako was struggling, Yuuko must have some strength, or that Takako really didn't have that much strength to fight back. Almost like watching a small child trying to wrestle herself out of her mother's firm grasp.

"I. Told. You! I'm not Takako! I'm Dekai Roubudo!"

What? Dekai Roubudo? Didn't she say her name was Kuroi Shinda? And what the hell is that name?

"Don't mind her. She hates her own name so she uses whatever is nearby as her temporary name."

Yuki explained, shouldering her rifle with a 'can't-be-bothered-to-care' look.

"Kurogane, care to join me for a late meal?"

Yuki asked. Well, it was either do that, or face the screaming Takako. I think i'll go eat.

* * *

I set down my tray of food and pulled a chair for myself to sit. For tonight, i'm treating myself to my favourite meal, ramen. A simple Shio ramen with extra noodles and toppings. Just smelling it made my mouth water. Yuki pulled a chair opposite me with her tray of hamburger steak. The cafeteria was still open even at this time, as expected of a World where almost everything was working like a computer system. The cafeteria was filled by only SSS2 members at this time, since the NPCs had all gone to sleep. A large number of the SSS2 members were celebrating, giving loud cheers and being merry, but a small number were having quiet meals, showing remorse, guilt and sadness. Obviously not everyone made it out of tonight's operation unscathed.

"So, how do you think tonight's battle went?"

Yuki asked, taking a bite out of her steak.

"... We lost a lot of people."

"Yes, we did. This is the first time we've conducted such a large assault mission. You cannot expect there to be no casualties. Organization of the members, proper execution of individual tasks, teamwork amongst the different divisions in ways we never did before. All of such reasons were clear from the get-go, but we could not waste time."

I understood what Yuki was saying, but i still could not understand why actually go through with it.

"Because we lost Tetsuya, we lost the foundation of the diversion division. We needed to strike back with force. It's like a fighter who lost his shield. We had no other option but to go on the offensive."

I could still sense that Yuki did not truly believe in that reason. Was it perhaps a form of blind justification? Just a reason convenient excuse to charge blindly forward? I would never know.

"... You seem to like ramen."

Yuki said, noticing the way i ate my bowl of delicious noodles. I must stress the importance that this bowl of ramen is extremely delicious.

"Ah... it's my favourite food."

"You're favourite?... You've recovered your memories?"

I knew that this was going to come up. I close my eyes, recollecting my thoughts. The time i when devoured by the Shadow. Bits and pieces of it were coming back to me.

"... Not all of it."

I admitted. That's right, i haven't recovered all of my memories. But the shock and the scenes from my time in the illusion world had jolt back some parts of my past. Some parts that were really unpleasant to remember.

"Hmm... So? What would you do now?"

"Huh?"

Yuki leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she smiled a little.

"You've recovered a portion of your memories. It may not seem much, but it can certainly alter your decisions in the future. So, what do you plan to do now?"

What do i plan to do now? Personally, i don't know. I really would not know. I look to Yuki, the girl who became one of the five leaders of this rag-tag bunch of misfits. Many look up to her, her unwavering convictions and actions to fight. And yet i would not know if things would be different if she had not suffered that horrible past. Yuki came to be where she is now because life was unfair to her. She grew angry, hating her past, and that lingering sentiment made her take arms against this World. It was exactly like the previous SSS. They all had their fair share of regret and anger for their past lives. And yet they all passed on. Could this SSS2 do the same? I had to wonder about that. But... this sort of life was something i didn't hate. For some strange reason, i felt joy in my heart that i was needed here. That i could be of some use. That i had a place.

"... You know, from what i can remember, i never really had a true goal in my life."

I smiled a little, thinking back to my past life.

"I remember only listening to what others told me to do, and i did so without question. I had no direction in life, no goals, no dreams. It was like... I was a doll made by the desires of others. This is the first time that someone has actually asked me... what do i want to do."

"And? What would your answer be?"

"... My answer is... that i will continue to fight alongside you guys. After all, there isn't any other place for me to go, is there?"

Yuki smiled, nodding her head.

"No, there probably isn't. Glad to see you're still with us, Kurogane."

"Kou."

"Huh?"

"My name is Kurogane Kou."

Yuki seemed a little surprised, but she still smiled in the end.

"Ah... good to work with you once more, Kou."

* * *

A/N: This would be the last of a whole bunch of chapters. If you know my writing style, i'm random at posting chapters. Check out my blog to see updates and some of the characters. No, this isn't the end of the first half.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Sorry for the long delay. A lot of things came up after i last updated. I planned to update after my summer courses ended, but i had to deal with several issues before the new term started. Already into my 6th year of University and still going strong! Though if you're in a 6th year of an undergraduate degree, you know you're doing something wrong. In my case, i'm doing everything wrong. I wanted to update when my school term started, but all of a sudden... HALO: REACH CAME OUT! I went on a game marathon, playing not only Halo, but a whole lot of games i missed out. I still continued to write this story, but now i have ideas for two new fics. One for Hetalia (i've been wanting to write one for some time but only got the right idea recently), and one for Halo: Reach (Popped into my head after playing the game. But the story is the same as most of those Halo: Reach fics on this site, so i'm conflicted about writing it). I may write them or not, depending on several factors.

To reply some of your concerns, the main cast of this first HALF of the entire series is focused on females. The second half will have a lot more males.

Announcement! I have FINISHED THIS FIRST HALF OF THE SERIES! Which means, i will no longer be accepting characters. A big THANK YOU to all of you who contributed your characters. I hope to make them shine proudly for you!

Now that i've finished story, i have to ask you, the readers, if you would rather i post several chapters per week at a steady pace, or would you rather i post everything in one go? In total, there are 39 chapters for this first half of the fic (this isn't a mere fanfiction anymore... this is a freaking novel). If i get no replies by the end of the week, i will be posting everything in one go.

Well, here we go!

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 17_

_23:50_

Part 6

"Oi, Yurippe, are you sure about this?"

Hideki asked the leader of the Sekai no Seishun Sensen, aka SSS, who was leaning back in her chair behind her desk in the small clubroom that now had seventeen members, Yuri herself included. Just how did they managed to find all of these people in such a short time? First off, there's the hot headed leader Yuri. Then there's the first four members, the calm Yuzuru, mood-maker Hideki, emotionless Yusa, and cool Asami. After that they had shinobi fanatic Shiina join when they got their clubroom. After that, gambling Hisako, frightened Miyuki and mischevious Shiori, the three friends of Asami who also revived their old band called 'Girls Dead Monster' together with Asami. As for why that name was chosen, was because the four of them felt it was something really familiar to them, and was just right. Somehow, they thought of the same name at the same time, which was rather freaky as a coincidence.

Next to join was Yuri's fanatical fan, the idiot Takagi and his giant halberd replica. Soon others came. The captain of the Judo team, a meek looking kid, an honour student, a computer nerd, Hisako's delinquent boyfriend (who came running back to her after she threatened to break up with him), a strange break dancing guy who speaks nothing but gibberish with added English lines that make no sense whatsoever, and finally the last one was Hideki's own girlfriend, the hyper active Yui. Apparently Yui had recovered from her injuries and had gotten well enough to come back to school. Though it should be noted that she's only a first year. Yuri slapped her childhood friend for laying hands on someone two years his junior.

"Lolicon!"

Was what she used to insult him. Still, it was interesting to see what kind of relationship Hideki and Yui had. It was hard to tell if they actually liked, or hated one another. After constant kicking, grappling moves and head locks, the two would then go off on their own World out in the school courtyard. By Yuri's estimation, Yui was probably going to do another german suplex on Hideki.

"Of course i'm sure! The school festival is coming up soon and we're going to do this!"

Yuri would not budge on her plan. Her ideal plan to defeat the neighbouring school's club was flawless, or so she thought.

"Should we really be trying to compete with another school though? I mean, we already have our hands tied with trying to find materials for our things, let alone trying to perfect them."

What Yuzuru said really caused a nerve to snap in Yuri. But the leader of the SSS stopped herself from shouting out any profanity, closing her eyes to contemplate on what they should be doing. It was true that their plan was slightly over the top, but word came in from Yusa that the SOS were doing the same thing as the SSS, a band.

"Sawashiro-san, how are the preparations?"

Yuri turned to Asami, who gave the leader a thumbs up.

"The band is all ready."

"Good... by the way, what's the name of the band?"

Yuri had to ask once more since she wasn't really listening the first time before.

"Girl's Dead Monster."

Yuri blinked a couple of times after hearing that name. For some odd reason she felt it was rather familiar.

"... Sawashiro-san, where did you get that name from?"

"Hm? Oh, has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? It was a name that the four of us created the first time we made a band together. Somehow it felt like it was something that felt just right to us."

Just right... to Yuri it felt like something more than simply 'just right'. That name was something that really resounded strongly in her.

"Yurippe? Are you alright?"

Hideki asked.

"A-ah.. yeah, i'm fine. Anyway, how are we in getting a hold of those wind generators?"

Yuri turned to Yusa, who pulled out a chart from seemingly nowhere.

"We have asked the student council and they have agreed to loan us four of the wind generators for our play, on the condition that we aid out with their work during the festival."

"As usual, that evil vice president is working us to the bone. But i guess that's better than nothing. Alright! Everyone, this will be our very first major production. We have to make sure it is perfect!"

* * *

"Yuri."

She turned around at the call of her name, and saw that Yuzuru had stayed behind when all the others had left. Yuzuru had often stayed by Yuri's side long after the others had left the clubroom, mainly because Kanade worked late. However this time Yuri sensed that Yuzuru wanted something else.

"What is it? If you want to flirt with me, you're going to get it from Kanade later. Not that i mind. Adds to my amusement."

Yuri smirked, causing Yuzuru to narrow his eyes at her.

"No thanks to you ratting me out last week, Kanade would not talk to me for three days!"

"Always glad to be of service."

Yuri replied, shuffling through paper work that Ayato had sent over to get her to do. The price of freedom, or so Yuri said.

"So? What do you want?"

Yuri asked, sorting out some of the papers into piles.

"... About just now."

"Just now?"

"About Girl's Dead Monster."

Yuri paused, looking up to Yuzuru.

"... What about them?"

"... I'm not sure if i can put this properly..."

"Then go think about how you should phrase it before asking me."

Yuri sighed, going back to sorting papers.

"Yuri! You know that there's something about the name, something about all of this seems too familiar."

That made Yuri pause for a second time. Normally, if someone were to make her pause more than once, she would not hesitate to beat that guy to a pulp. But what Yuzuru said was true. She could not, would not, deny it.

"... Maybe the name is something you've heard before?"

"No, it isn't possible. I've checked all of the bands out there that would be similar, but have yet to find a single other band that has a name close to it. I've seen the way you react, Yuri. You know this as well."

She did know it. She knew something of wrong, that something in this World was off. Was that the reason why she created the SSS? It wasn't just on a whim that she created this club. No, it was something that had been nagging at her for years. It was like an unfulfilled desire, a lingering hunger. There was something she wanted to do with this club, and up till now she had no clue what that was. What was the real reason she created this club? What was it the reason she started all of this? It all began with coming to this school. No, perhaps even before that. It was something that would not let go. But coming to this school, it was like things were finally beginning to set into place. Like a giant puzzle that slowly pieced itself together. That nagging feeling became stronger, almost like it was trying to remind her of something.

The more she got into it, the stronger that feeling got. It got so strong that it would urge her to continue, to push on to find out what was going on. It would actually pain her not to find out. Coming to this school, meeting Yuzuru and Kanade, creating this club, meeting Asami, Yusa and Shiina. Then the others came along. Somehow whenever she enters this club room with the club members, it felt just right to her. It was like she was invincible with them with her. That no matter what obstacles they would face, they would be able to get across. It seemed ridiculous, seeing as how she only knew most of these people for less than a month, and yet she knew that she could trust them with everything. It was odd, since the other members all felt the same to her and each other. Yuri did not know that, however, so most of what she felt she kept to herself, thinking that it was merely stress, or anxiety.

"It's probably your imagination."

Yuri replied, finishing her work at last and taking her glasses off.

"... Yuri."

"You've probably been reading too many mystery novels."

She got up from her chair, walking over table in the room. She took her bag and placed the finished paperwork inside.

"It's getting late. You better go back as well, unless you plan on waiting for Kanade-chan again."

Yuzuru bit his lip, not knowing what he should say to convince Yuri to admit the truth. He relented, grabbing his bag as well.

"I'll head back too. Kanade told me not to wait for her today."

"I see."

The duo left the clubroom, Yuri remembering to lock it before leaving the school, and headed out towards the train station. Along the way, Yuzuru was still struggling with trying to find the words to convince Yuri, while Yuri herself seemed to be have doubts about whether her own theory about these odd feelings were only just from anxiety and stress. There had to be more than that, was what her heart told her. She somehow felt that these were not coincidences. It felt as though they had shared experiences together before. That these were things they had done once. A dream.

"... Ne, Kaimya-kun."

"Hm?"

"Did you ever had a feeling that you had been living in a dream?"

Yuzuru looked to her with a puzzled look on his face.

"A dream?"

"Yeah. Like how things seemed so surreal, where somehow everything you wanted became true. Sometimes you wonder if this is all real?"

"... Sometimes, yes."

Yuri smiled at his answer.

"I see."

* * *

Yuri dropped her bag next to her desk once she got back home to her room. Her little siblings were all making a lot of noise next door, probably about tonight's dinner. As the eldest of four children, Yuri had always felt that it was duty to show example to them. And it was her duty to protect them. Protect them. Somehow that phrase was so strong in her that it felt like it was her very life. Everyday in her life, she had to look upon their faces at least once a day in order to ease the anxiety in her heart. Anxiety? Anxiety of what? That she may not see them again? It felt silly, and certainly her parents simply said that she was too doting as an older sister. Maybe that was the case. When she was still young, she would cry uncontrollably whenever she saw her siblings. For no reason whatsoever, tears would start bursting from her eyes. After she entered junior high school, it stopped. It was perhaps a phase, like the doctor suggested. It was a rather embarrassing time for Yuri, and her nickname in the family became 'crybaby Yuri'. While that nickname irks her, it was something that somehow caused ease in her heart.

"A... dream, huh."

She thought back to her conversation with Yuzuru, about how this entire thing seemed like a happy dream to her. It was true that while everything that has unfolded so far was due to her persistence and hard work, it was also a feeling that something was moving everything in accordance to her wishes. Meeting with Yuzuru and Kanade, forming the SSS, meeting up with Asami, then the others. This wasn't coincidence, this was something else. Yuri was never a believer of God, or any form of supernatural occurrences, but this was something that Yuri could not deny. Something was happening.

"... Gah! It's pointless to think of such things. I think I'll rest my head a little before dinner's ready."

Yuri sighed, throwing herself onto the bed to rest.

* * *

"Shoot them!"

"They're coming around the corner!"

"Pull back! Pull back!"

Chaos, confusion, blood. This was a scene that she had seen somewhere before. Students wearing a uniform unknown to her yet somewhat nostalgic. No, it wasn't just nostalgic. She knew that uniform.

"They're coming from the rear! We're being surrounded!"

She turned around, seeing another one of those students running back to the barricade. Some students turned around and started shooting down the corridor. She could not see what they were shooting at, but what she knew was that she felt fear. Fear and death. This entire place reeked of it.

"Stand your ground! Hold them back!"

She turned around and saw a young girl with long hair, standing tall and firm, shouting out orders and directing the others into position. A leader.

"Yuki!"

Running up to the leader, another girl with long hair looked somewhat worried.

"They... they've overrun the other outposts. This is the last one!"

"Tch... so this is the end?"

The girl called Yuki narrowed her eyes at whatever they were shooting at.

"Well, then this is where we shall make our stand. Are you with me, Kou?"

Kou looked up to Yuki, and nodded. But suddenly Kou turned and looked directly at her. Their eyes met.

"You... you're not suppose to be here."

* * *

Yuri awoke with a start. Cold sweat dripping down her brow. What was that scene? What was that she just saw? It seemed all so familiar. That scene, that uniform. The entire thing was familiar. The feeling of loss, despair, regret, death. That uniform. On it were the words 'SSS' with a '2' written in black marker. Somehow seeing that black marker written on that 'SSS' logo made Yuri extremely pissed for some odd reason. But other than that, the dream seemed extremely real. Not only that, but she somehow knew what was going on within that dream. Knew what it was, but could not properly put it into words. It was like her body, heart and soul knew what it was, but her mind could not process it. Death. That was the only thing that her mind could say about that dream.

"Onee-chan?"

She turned, and saw her younger brother standing by the door.

"A-ah... Takashi. What is it?"

"Okaa-sama says it's dinner time."

She turned and saw the time was already seven.

"Thanks, i'll be right down."

Yuri replied, swinging her legs off the bed.

"Onee-chan."

"Hm?"

"Are you alright? You look pale."

She closed her eyes for the moment, before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm just tired, that's all. Go on first, I'll be right down."

Takashi nodded and left her alone. Yuri looked down at her hands. She was trembling. Just what was with that dream?

* * *

A/N: The scene in Yuri's dream is not what is happening in the Afterlife World, but rather it is meant to be symbolism. As in, the event doesn't actually happen, but it clearly represents to Yuri what is going on. The dreams that Yuri have are significant and will be explained... in the second half.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Alright, since you readers asked for it, i will upload a couple of chapters per week. Probably every Thursday and Friday.

There was one thing i noticed in the anime series that really bugged me. There wasn't enough 'random' things that showed what the SSS did. I mean, we know they caused huge commotions with their live band playing, they cause meal tickets to fly up into the air and they get murdered by traps while going down to Guild. I was thinking, it wasn't enough. Not enough of these 'everyday' events that show the 'relaxed' side of their organization. So i've decided to write it down. For the next few chapters, the fic will focus on random and everyday things that the SSS2 does. If this were a game, it would be like those 'side quests'.

One more thing, i decided that i won't be posting on my blog, mainly because the entire layout looks all messed up with me posting so many tabs. That may change later, though. My mind is as fickle as my sister's choice of clothing.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 18_

_An Everyday Thing_

Part 7

I got up from the bed in my dorm room, scratching my head as i wondered towards the mirror. My hair was a complete mess. I turned to see that my room-mate had already gotten up. Great, didn't bother to wake me either. I look around in the room, thinking about the past few days. During the first few days since i've arrived in this World, i had stayed over at the Fort, sleeping either in the principal's office or some other spare room in that building. Although most of the time i wake up in the principal's office due to some unforeseen circumstance that caused me to be knocked out or end up dead. In total, i died ten times since i first arrived. That is a lot of times to die, though still unable to compare to some others, especially those in Guild who deal with exploding weapons on a daily basis. After two weeks, i decided to go to the dorms to rest instead of staying in that cramp room at Fort. My room-mate was another SSS2 member, part of the intelligence unit, which is the only unit i have not gotten to know much about. It was like the intelligence division was a shady organization who did not want to associate with the rest of the SSS2.

Grabbing the toiletries, i headed for the common washroom. Walking barefoot in this dorm wasn't something unusual, though in the girl's dorm most of the girls tend to wear cute fluffy slippers. Not my style. Although everyone was provided with sleeping attires, i chose to sleep in a large t-shirt i took the last time i went down to Guild. Don't know who it belongs to, but Yuuko just said take it. So far i had managed to avoid Gen, in fear of his scolding, though i was still curious about what 'special' thing he said he would prepare for me during the night of the assault. The t-shirt was plain in design, a white shirt with a giant 'SSS2' logo on the front. I had to wonder whose this was, really. It was huge. No one in guild is that big. Was it Ein's? Nah, that guy seems to love his military styled uniform to the point where i highly doubt he changes out of it. In fact, i wouldn't be surprised if colonel mc-bear (my permanent nickname for him) sleeps in that uniform. I drag my feet to the washroom, and i spent about five minutes staring straight at my squinting-eyed, hair-messed, and overall horrible reflection whilst trying to get my brain to function properly once more.

"... I'm hungry."

After washing up, i head back to my room, got changed and slotted my pistol in my holster, slung my rifle and headed out of the room. Heading straight for the cafeteria, i noticed that i wasn't alone in searching for a meal. Most of the SSS2 members were up and eating in the cafeteria. A couple of NPCs were also present, minding their own business. I walk over to the ticket machine, pressing on my all-time favourite, ramen.

"Eh? Ramen again?"

I turn around, and saw Kyou standing behind me. Her friend, Sakagami Tomoyo, was standing next to her with a rather indifferent look.

"I like it."

I reply, grabbing my ticket.

"Sure, you like it, but to eat it for breakfast? You should be eating something like, toast, or eggs and sausages."

Kyou showed me her ticket, the breakfast set meal A. Tomoyo sighed, shaking her head in dismay, showing her ticket, breakfast set meal B.

"Kyou, you're wrong about that. Breakfast should be with rice, miso soup, fish, assorted vegetables and-"

"And natto? I thought you hated that stuff."

Kyou raised an eyebrow.

"I-it's healthy, so i decided to eat it to have a more balanced diet."

"You're dead, Tomoyo, it doesn't matter what sort of junk you eat."

"Kyou, you're contradicting yourself."

I pointed out, heading towards the line-up with Kyou and Tomoyo following behind.

"Eh? How am i contradicting myself?"

"You said that i shouldn't be eating ramen in the morning, yet since we're all dead, it shouldn't matter what we eat, am i right?"

"... Fine, you go ahead and eat that bowl of ramen."

I feel as though i didn't exactly win that arguement, but who cares. I pass the meal ticket to the lady behind the counter and waited for my meal. It didn't take long before i had my bowl of hot ramen. Kyou and Tomoyo also got their meals and the three of us headed off to find an empty table. Finding one on the upper levels by the railing, we settled down into our meals. I could see that Tomoyo was quite hesitant to put the natto in with her rice, and Kyou was having fun pointing that out. Such a peaceful day. It seemed almost a dream that merely a week since that night.

A week had gone by and everything was beginning to slow down to its normal pace. Because of the large assault we did, the number of Shadows appearing had greatly been reduced. Now only one Shadow hour per day would occur, the one at midnight. The number of Shadows per Shadow hour had also gone down. Of course Yuki and Ein do not believe that this would be the end, but merely the calm before the storm. I really hope they're wrong. For the past week, i had helped out Yuki in Fort, organizing files and going through the ammunition lists and supplies. I also assisted in the moving of machine gun nests to better protect the principal building. But other than that, everything was going at a snail's pace. Peace. Or so i hope.

"Oi, Kurogane. Are you listening?"

I look up to Kyou, who was chewing on her sausage while pointing her fork at me.

"What is it?"

"We were just talking about what division you're going to be assigned to. During the assault night, you proved yourself to be an excellent fighter, so quite a lot of divisions would be hoping to get you."

"Including yourself?"

I ask. Kyou being the leader of the front-lines squad who work directly under Ein, i guess she would be bias.

"Of course! If we had you in our division, it would give our fighting forces an extreme boost."

"Kyou, you're spitting your food out."

Tomoyo pointed out. Yes, i did notice that Kyou did not bother to finish swallowing her food before talking. Apparently after you die, you lose manners as well.

"Ah, sorry about that. I just got too excited."

Don't be too excited! I don't even get what Kyou is getting all worked up about. I didn't do much during that night, except for rendezvousing with Len at the second outpost by myself. That wasn't worth much merit, being due to a rather very good stroke of luck.

"Kurogane is still under Yuki's Fort. Most likely Yuki would still want to hold onto her."

Tomoyo said, which was quite true. I was still under Yuki's authority. And it so turns out that Yuki actually holds more power and sway amongst five leaders than any other. I'm rather surprised that she isn't the overall single leader, but i guess Yuki doesn't like that idea. It seemed that the leader of Fort was someone who hated the idea of one single leader.

"Oh, if it isn't Kyou and Sakagami. The new kid is here too."

I look up at hearing a rather familiar voice. Ah, Colonel mc-bear.

"Ein, what are you doing here?"

Kyou asked as the large leader of the Assault division pulled out a chair.

"What am i doing here? Eating breakfast, of course."

Ein replied with a smile. If he was eating breakfast, where the hell was his breakfast? I don't see any tray of food or anything edible on him. Unless he plans to eat his own hat.

"Hmm, that looks good. I'll have a bit."

Ein proceeded with grabbing one of Kyou's sausages and popping it into his mouth. Oh, i see. By breakfast, he meant someone else's breakfast. It seemed that Kyou and Tomoyo had already gotten used to him stealing their breakfast, so i shouldn't say anything. Until he spotted my ramen bowl.

"Hey, new kid."

I'm not a new kid any more! There had been another ten newcomers since i arrived, haven't there?

"You should put some shichimi in your ramen. Makes it all the better."

Ein proceeded with taking the said bottle of spices and dumping its contents into my bowl. Just for your information, i really can't take spicy food. I can stand a little spice, but my tolerance level was just as high my patience at the moment with mc bear.

"Hey! Stop that!"

I tried to push him away, but apparently my strength just cannot compare with mc bear, or any other guy for that matter.

"Oops."

Ein said as the cover of the spice bottle suddenly popped open, emptying the bottle of all of its contents into my bowl. My ramen. My beloved ramen. It was now a bowl of red... thing.

"Ah... ha ha, sorry about that. Ah, look at the time, got to go!"

Ein got up and left in a hurry, probably before i could get my hands to wrap around his neck. Leaving me to sit there, staring at my large bowl of red lava.

"... I wouldn't eat that if i were you."

Kyou warned. But it's still my beloved ramen! Which i didn't managed to eat even halfway! Dammit! I want my ramen back!

"... No matter what, i will have my ramen."

I took the plunge, holding the bowl firming with both hands. Lifting it up and holding it to my lips, i drank the lava. And blacked out.

* * *

"I still can't believe you actually went ahead and drank that thing."

Yuki said as she sorted out more paperwork in the principal's office. I was sitting on the sofa, feeling all terrible after that incident in the cafeteria. According to Kyou, who was the one who dragged me all the way to the infirmary, after taking one sip, my entire face turned to a certain shade of red that Kyou thought would be impossible for humans to reach, and i dropped like a stone, head first into the table.

"Ah~... that was just horrible. I actually managed to see the sanzo river (river styx)."

I seriously saw images of being on a boat with an old man manning the oar who was saying something like 'welcome to the next life', and 'eating ramen isn't good for health'. Well to hell with that guy.

"Ha? What are you talking about? You're already dead. If there is a sanzo river, it would be this World. Or the river next to the school."

Yuri pointed out. True, so i guess that was just a mere delusion.

"Next time, don't eat it."

Yuri warned.

"I never waste ramen... but that jerk-"

"Ein meant well. Did you know that using the shichimi spice can add more flavor?"

"But not to that extent!"

What Ein did to my ramen, i can never forgive. You hear me? NEVER! The only way he can make it up to me is if he gave me twenty bowls of ramen! Twenty! No less! Yuki sighed, pushing the pile of paper to one side.

"Kou, i need you to do some things."

I look up to Yuki, and nodded, since i don't really have much to do anyway.

"Imagawa is currently doing a check of the Fort's current defences. Can you go and help him?"

"... Imagawa? You know that that guy hates me, right?"

"He doesn't. He's just angry all of the time."

To me, that's the same thing. Imagawa had been really hostile towards me ever since i arrived. After the night attack, i managed to avoid seeing him by going certain routes. That guy is extremely predictable, from what time he goes to bed, to which routes he walks to get to one place from another. If anything, i would say he's more robotic than the NPCs.

"Well, i need you to make sure that the guns are working and to make sure nothing is missing from the machine gun nests."

"... Fine."

Seeing as how Yuki would not budge on this, i got up from the sofa and headed towards the door.

"Oh yeah, before you go, take this."

Yuki said, tossing a bound up stack of meal tickets. I caught it, and stared at the rather large stack of tickets with a rather puzzled look.

"That's payment for your work the past week. It took awhile to get it since we're too busy with other things. Come back after you're done with the defence check and i'll have the payment for this job ready as well."

I look at the tickets, before pocketing it. I don't eat anything besides ramen, but i guess it would do. I could always use it down in Guild for some new weapons or ammunition.

* * *

A/N: For those who are wondering what Kou saw in her little 'trip' to the Sanzu river, here is what happened. This scene is based on the manga NG Life. I love those scenes.

OMAKE:

Kou opened her eyes, staring up to a grey sky that seemed to obscure anything beyond. She sat up and found herself on a small boat with an old man manning the only oar at the front.

"Oh, _YOU_ are awake." (i'm emphasizing the YOU as the old man shouts that word and supposed to be in English)

The old man says without looking my way.

"Erm... where am i?"

"_YOU_ are on a one way trip to the other side."

"... Other side?"

Kou wondered what could possibly be on the other side of the Afterlife.

"Still... YOU are quite silly. Eating that ramen when it looks so dangerous. YOU must be stupid."

"... I love ramen. No matter what colour or shape."

"Ramen is not good for YOU. Eat more beans! Beans are good!"

"Huh? And wait a minute... I've got to go back! Bring me back!"

"No can do! Let's go! Full steam ahead!"

"NOOO!"


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Welcome back, my dear readers. As promised, i'm posting it on Thursday and Friday. I have started on a few new stories, and they are quite short, so don't worry. I will start the second part of this story after i'm done with those new stories. Hopefully nothing new pops into my head till then, otherwise i might side track again.

As some of you know, there is an extra episode coming with the final Blu-ray volume for Angel Beats!, but what is not known is what this final episode entails. A friend of mine seems convinced that it would tell the story of Kanade and Yuzuru in their new life. Who knows. Well, onto the fic.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 19_

_Reckless Job_

"De? What are you doing here?"

Imagawa gave me his usual glare and spiteful words once i met up with him outside the Principal building.

"I told you already, Yuki told me to help you in the checking."

"Hmph, i don't need some brainless new kid to help with this."

Why does everyone call me 'new kid'? Oh wait, it's only Imagawa and Ein that do that. Well, whatever. I'm not here to impress him, i'm here for more meal tickets. However i will not stand for being called 'brainless', especially by someone who is unable to read through the check-list of the things to do. Sighing, i look through my own check-list. The first thing i need to do is to check the placements of the nests. Looking up at the building, i see a couple of windows unused by the machine gun nests. I mark down the unguarded windows onto paper. Flipping through the lists, i found the piece that stated the number of machine gun placements available.

About five were out for maintenance, and two were lost during a previous encounter and needed to be replaced. Another three lacked members to man the gun. Only ten are left, that's half. Repositioning the nests would most likely cause an uneven distribution of fire power, but it was better than doing nothing at all. But first i need to check on each of the nests to see the condition of the members stationed there. I turn to check on Imagawa, who was still scratching his head and squinting his eyes at the check-list handed to him. He would probably be wasting time and his single digit brain cells by trying to read that. Without waiting, i head into the building.

"Oi! You're not to go on your own, new kid!"

Imagawa shouted as he chased up to me. Oh great. The monkey decided to follow after all. I head to the first nest, and saw two members sitting in chairs and relaxing by the gun.

"Excuse me, i'm Kurogane and i'm here about the-"

Before i could finish my sentence, Imagawa cut in, stepping right in front of me.

"You lazy bums! What do you think you're doing, just sitting around? Man that gun!"

Imagawa shouted at the two students, who looked to him with the most 'whatever' expression i had ever seen. They ignored him and continued to laze around.

"Why you-"

"Okay, that's enough out of you."

I kick Imagawa aside, making him crash into the wall. I can't do my job if he's constantly getting in my way.

"Sorry about that idiot."

"It's alright. Jin's always like that. We're used to it."

One of the students said, shaking his can coffee.

"Ha... i see. Well, i've been asked by Yuki to check the defences."

The student nodded and turned to his gun. After a few moments of checking the gun, they turned back to me.

"Nothing's wrong with the gun itself, but we're short on ammunition. I'm guessing the same problem is with the other nests."

"I'll take note of that. Another thing is that since we're short on gun placements, we may need to move you around."

"Sure. Just tell us where to go."

"Thanks. The second floor third window outside the private washroom has a good area to look out from. Head there as soon as possible."

"Right-o."

The two students took their gun and ammunition, leaving their current nest to head upstairs. Good, that's one down, another nine to go.

"Why did you kick me?"

Ah, the monkey's awake. Faster than expected. Imagawa had a very nice red mark on his face from his nice contact with the wall.

"That hurt!"

I thought as much. In fact, i hoped that kick would kill him so that he could get out of my hair for at least an hour. Well, beggars can't be choosers. However it didn't end there. As i went from one nest to the other, Imagawa always managed to try to get ahead of me. Stepping in front of me, running ahead of me, shouting out his demands before i have a chance to speak to the gunners. This was really irritating. No, it was more than irritating. Can i seriously kill him now? Like, forever? Feeling pissed and agitated, i quicken my steps down the corridor, and soon that idiot quickened his steps as well, overtaking me with a smirk on his face. I seriously want to punch his face.

Not intending to lose, i quicken my steps, overtaking him. But it just would not end as he too quickened his pace. The two of us must look like idiots, brisk-walking at high speeds down the corridor, trying to outrun each other. Time to end this. I took a sharp turn, taking the stairs to the third floor. As expected, that monkey was hot on my tail. I head straight for the principal's office, and almost reached for the door knob when Imagawa slammed his body into me, sending me flying to one side. I hit the floor hard, maybe causing a broken bone.

"Ha ha! I am the best! Yuki shall see that now!"

Imagawa laughed his usual haughty laugh as he reached for the door knob of the principal's office. I could not help but smile. Sucker. Let's just say that someone 'forgot' to mention that the trap was still active.

"Ha ha ha ha-GAH"

Imagawa's laugh was cut short when the giant hammer outside the principal's office came swinging down, slamming into him, knocking him off his feet and out the window. Good riddence to bad rubbish. I got to my feet, dusting my uniform.

"Look who's laughing now."

I reach for the door knob, but heard a click. Oops. I forgot about the trap as well.

* * *

"You're an idiot, you know that?."

Yuki sighed, handing me an ice pack as i lay on the sofa, nursing my sore head. Yuki said she heard the noise outside the office and came out to investigate where she saw me sprawled outside back on the first floor. As for Imagawa, apparently the hammer hit him further than expected, so he's currently missing in action.

"I forgot completely about the trap myself."

"Even though you used it against Imagawa a mere two seconds before?"

I closed my eyes, berating my stupidity.

"Oh yeah, i saw that old guy again."

"Who, the one rowing the boat in the Sanzo river?"

"Yeah. He told me i was dumb to be caught up in my own trap."

"I'm starting to like that old man."

Yuki sat back in her chair behind the desk, flipping through my report.

"As always, we're short on ammunition."

Yuki said, tossing the report aside. She pushed another stack of meal tickets across the desk, most likely mine. I got up from the sofa and grabbed the tickets. I could probably get a nice new gun for this. Still, i would have to talk to Gen if i wanted anything. Ah... i don't want to face him, not after i wrecked my rifle.

"There's a little extra here."

I note, checking the stack of tickets i received.

"Ah, it's for a good work on reorganizing the nests. We'll be prepared for tonight's Shadow hour."

"Hmm... I see. Do you have another job for me?"

I knew that Yuki always had another task for me. I was like her personal dog, or something. And as expected, Yuki only smirked.

"It just so happens that i do have another job for you. The runners are being exhausted with the recent ammunition shortage. Until Guild can get the large factory up and running, we're down to relying on the smaller factory to get our supplies. As you know, the smaller factory isn't suited for mass production."

This was a situation that i was very well aware of. In fact, i did not use my rifle for the entire week since the assault. I resorted to using steel poles and actually went off stealing equipment from the archery club. Archery. I had done that sport when i was still alive, but due some incident that i could not remember clearly, i stopped doing it. Even holding onto the bow for a long period of time seemed impossible for me as i would instinctively drop it.

"So you're going to help out with the runners. Report to this person."

Yuki handed me a torn off piece of paper that had a name written on it.

"Takamachi... Yukari?"

"She should be over at Guild. Oh, and you might want to watch yourself around her."


	20. Chapter 20

Angel Beats!

What We Die For

Chapter 20

The White Demon

There's just something about Yuki giving me such cryptic warnings. I don't know whether i should be cautious, or just ignore the warnings all together. Either way, i would not know what to expect until i meet this person. I made my way down into the tunnels of Guild, heading straight to Guild. Though i had to pass by a couple of 'stalls' set up by some of the SSS2 members. Because of the shortage of weapons and ammunition, SSS2 members resorted to selling and trading whatever they have in order to get more weapons and ammunition. It was like an inflation on the value of meal tickets. What the hell is this, a depression? Even in the afterlife? Now the tunnels of the Guild was beginning to look a whole lot like some underground black market scene in a war film.

I would like to add that some of the items that the members are trying to sell are completely useless. Things like chairs stolen from classrooms, assorted stationary, frying pans, toothpicks, and all sorts of other random day-to-day items. Though there were some who managed to make their own weapons and guns, though since only Guild has members with the full memories of guns and weapons, you would have to be wary about these sort of guns made by amateurs. I recalled another assault member buying one of these guns, and just by pulling the trigger, the entire gun shattered into pieces. The thing about guns in this World is that although you can create a weapon just from memories, if you do not understand how it works, it would never be created. You can make something close to it, but nothing solid. At most it would fire one shot, but then lose its form.

Of course, there were a couple of stalls that sold working firearms, but it wasn't a gamble i was willing to take. Besides, Yuuko would kill me if she found out i wasn't buying weapons from her. I had seen the leader of Guild indiscriminately blast her giant cannon at anyone who did not agree with her. I shouldn't be giving her another reason to use that monster of a weapon. Reaching Guild, i notice that there seems to be a lot more activity occurring here than before. People were running about, carrying items or dirt. I guess the need for ammunition had hit Guild the hardest. I spotted Yuuko by the side, going through papers while being surrounded by her subordinates who were constantly asking her questions. It wasn't long before Yuuko exploded in their faces.

"GAH! GO AWAY! I won't hear another report! Go do something else! NOW!"

Yuuko's sudden outburst scattered the members who were crowding around her, as well as the reports and documents in her hands. I know i shouldn't be bugging her, but i needed to find this Takamachi person. Walking up to the leader of Guild, i felt a little apprehensive. For a good reason.

"... Eto... i'm guessing now isn't a good time?"

I ask, and Yuuko turned around, her glare and snarling look made her look like dog.

"Does it LOOK good to you?"

"... No."

"Then you have your answer! Now go away!"

Yuuko fumed as she angrily gathered the scattered documents.

"... Could you at least tell me where i can find Takamachi-san?"

Yuuko turned to glare at me once more, this time looking a lot angrier and pissed off than before.

"Huh? Is that all you want? I have better things to do!... Fine! She's over there, by the supply room, now leave me alone!"

I decided to leave Yuuko alone before she takes out something frightening from who-knows-where. I head over to the supplies room, taking extra precautions to avoid the fitters, Gen in particular. The supply room had a number of people standing outside, and most of them were simply waiting around. These must be the runners. But i thought they were under-staffed at the moment? Walking over to the room, the runners noticed me and parted to reveal a girl sitting on a crate of ammunition whilst chewing on a toothpick. The girl's uniform was like most SSS2 members, except she chose to roll up only her right sleeve. She also wore a beret with the SSS2 logo on the front like a military commando's beret. The girl noticed my arrival, smiling a little.

"Are you Takamachi Yukari?"

"Who's asking?"

"I'm Kurogane Kou, sent by Yuki to aid the runners."

The girl seemed to study me with her eyes, looking at me from the feet to the head and back down.

"Hmm~ so you're the new 'ace' of Fort, eh? Pretty scrawny-looking though. Don't they feed you enough?"

Scrawny? Did this girl call me scrawny? Sure, this girl was slightly larger than me, but you don't look that much stronger either. I don't think you have the right to call me scrawny.

"Well, although you've come all the way here, i'm afraid there isn't anything to do."

"Eh? Nothing to do? What do you mean?"

"It is means what it is. Guild had recently made a large number of ammunition stock piles, but various factors are preventing us from moving them out."

I have no idea what she meant by 'various', but i have a feeling i'm going to have to work a bit more for this job.

"... What are these... 'Various' factors?"

"For one, our leader is has gone missing again."

"Leader? You mean Takamachi?"

The girl raised an eyebrow when i asked that, but soon began to laugh out loudly.

"Ha ha ha ha! Ah, sorry about about that. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Takamachi Yukari. The one Yuki sent you to find."

"Huh? But if you're Takamachi, then who's the leader?"

"That would be Shinobu-chan. Senjougahara Shinobu. She's usually a quiet one, but still has a good head on her shoulder to lead. However recently she's been having her head in the clouds, not able to do anything besides running into walls... kind of reminds you of Goudatera, doesn't it?"

Goudatera Takako, the short and rather eccentric member of Guild did more than leave an impression in my head. For one, never call her short. She has a shorter fuse than Yuuko's cannon. Second, she has an incredible amount of... energy. Almost to a fault. Third is that everyone seems to know a skill that Goudatera has, and everyone knows a different skill. Either Goudatera has one skill that no one can actually understand properly, or that she has many useless skills. She could well be one of the seven mysterious of the school, if not for the fact that this is already the school for the dead. And i don't know if there exists another six mysteries.

Well, some people began spreading the rumour that if you are able to discover every single one of Takako's special skills, you would be able to see something really amazing. Whether it was really something amazing, or something amazingly dumb, i can't say for sure. For the one i know, Goudatera has a strange penchant for walking straight into glass walls. Every single one of the glass walls in the school, to be precise.

"Well, Shinobu-chan was not one to be able to stop when she runs so she crashes into walls regardless."

What? So how can this Shinobu's actions be any different? This Yukari person was a little... easy-going.

"So... if you're not the leader, then why did Yuki ask me to find you?"

I ask. Yukari smiled, jumping off the crate she was sitting on.

"Because i'm the one who filed in the request. At the time i filed the request, we could still move on with work, even with Shinobu-chan having lost her head in some cloud. This brings me to the second of the various factors. I'm sure you notice the increase number of those 'illegal' stores on your way here?"

"Yes, but what do they have to do with anything?"

"Well, apparently someone's been stealing away the supplies that were suppose to be sent Assault and Fort. Now these supplies have been popping up at some of the illegal stalls. Yuuko's extremely pissed about this and though she tried to get those stores to shut down, they just keep popping up no matter what."

"How about asking help from Assault and Fort? These supplies are for them, anyway."

"Both Shrewerz-san and Yuki have been kept busy since that assault night. We all suffered heavy casualties. The two of them have been trying to regain their numbers while still carrying out their jobs. It's impossible for them to stretch their forces any thinner."

True, I noticed that Yuki's Fort was more empty in the days after the assault. I guess no one can truly go unscathed in this battle.

"What about those crates?"

I point to the ones that Yukari just jumped off from.

"These? These are for Assault division. We're just waiting for the last two crates of ammunition to come from the builders to arrive, however that may take some time."

"Time? Why?"

"Well, as if the illegals weren't enough to grate Yuuko's nerves, the larger factory just had an explosion. Yuuko had to send more than half of her builders on site to access and repair any damages. That doesn't leave her with a lot of builders left to make the ammunition that we need."

So that explains Yuuko's cranky mood. Still, an explosion in the larger factory? Wasn't that place still under construction? Why would it explode? Never-mind, it isn't my business to know.

"Are there any more factors?"

"Other than those i've already stated? We're just short on people. With every other division demanding supplies, the number of runners we have are stretched thin."

I close my eyes to think about the situation. I can't do much about Yuuko's factory blowing up. The most i can do about it is to not bother the boss of Guild. The things i can look into are the stores and about the leader, Senjougahara. I don't really feel like actually helping out, more like wanting to go back to tell Yuki that i can't do anything to help out. Though i do think that Yuki would not like that idea too much. There was one time i saw Yuki actually shoot one of her own men. That was the first indicator that Yuki would not mess around too kindly with failure. Besides, helping out with the runners would eventually lead to the SSS2 being fully ready for battle once more. Also allowing me to buy supplies from Yuuko again. Why does this sound a lot like a role-playing game?

"... Alright, i'll help out and see what i can do about these problems."

* * *

"And why are you following me?"

I ask the laid-back Yukari who was walking right behind me as i head off to deal with the illegal store problem. Yukari chewed on her toothpick, with her hands behind her head.

"Why? Because it also concerns me... i guess."

You guess? What sort of replacement leader says 'i guess' in this sort of situation? Whatever. For now, i'll just have to find out how those stores get their stock. As we walked down the rows of stores in the tunnel, i started to notice a trend in the goods being sold in the stores. The ones closer to Guild weren't the ones selling good quality items, and it seemed the ones down on tunnel were the ones getting better items.

"So what does that mean?"

Yukari asked as she paid a store two meal tickets for a packet of takoyaki. Why two tickets?

"Hm? Oh, the cafeteria doesn't sell small stuff like this, or taiyaki. So some of these stalls make their own."

Yukari explained, taking a bite into her food. While these stores were more or less harmless to Guild, simply selling small commodities like snacks and clothes, i still had to wonder about them selling things like these.

"I thought you couldn't make food from dirt?"

"Huh? Who ever said making these from dirt? The machines are made from dirt, though, so i wouldn't exactly call these perfect. A little crunchy."

I did not need to know that.

"So how do they get the ingredients?"

"The cafeteria kitchen. Raiding the kitchen happens about once a week, want to join in?"

"... No thanks."

"Suit yourself. These are pretty good."

Raiding the kitchen? Just what are we suppose to be, students in this dead school, soldiers against some dark shadow enemy, or simply terrorists of the afterlife? Wait, the last one sounded a little wrong.

"Let's begin the investigation by asking the stores."

As we began to ask around, it became clear that either no one knows anything about the supplies, or they just weren't willing to talk.

"Eh? Supplies? Don't know what you're talking about."

The guy behind the counter snorted, leaning back in his chair.

"Look, these weapons and ammunition are clearly for the Assault division. So why do you have them?"

I point to the guns on his counter.

"I picked them up after that night raid. What, got a problem with that?"

Obviously he wasn't being very friendly, or cooperative. I should have known this would happen.

"I've got no problem with you finding weapons after battles, but these are clearly new ones made by Guild for the Assault division."

"So what? It's all free, anyway."

"So you admit it, then."

The guy glared at me, slamming his fist on the counter.

"I ain't admitting anything! Get lost before i shoot you myself, bitch of Yuki."

Now that statement, would surely snap even my patience. Without waiting, i pulled out my pistol and pressed it against his forehead. The guy was surprised, and a little scared, but he wasn't all too afraid of my gun.

"Even if you do shoot me, it wouldn't matter since i would just revive later anyway."

I pulled the hammer back.

"I know. But i also know how much it would hurt each time you die. I have fifteen rounds in this gun. Want to see how it feels like to die fifteen times in a row?"

That really got his attention.

"O-oi! Y-you're eyes are scary!"

"And i wouldn't have it any other way."

"O-okay! I-i'll tell you! Just put that gun away!"

"Too late."

Just as i was about to pull the trigger, Yukari suddenly grabbed onto my gun, preventing me from firing the weapon.

"There, there, no need to get all fired up about trival things."

Yukari sighed. Trival? Since when was something like this trival?

"I'll handle this, so why don't you cool your head a little."

Yukari winked, stepping between me and the guy behind the counter.

"Alright, let's hear you talk."

Yukari narrowed her eyes while her lips curled into a sinister smile. That look alone made the guy extremely nervous, almost like seeing a rabbit cower before a hungry wolf.

"A-alright! W-we get the supplies from another guy-"

Yukari suddenly pulled out a giant cleaver and slammed it into the ground.

"Not good enough."

Yukari's smile seemed to border closely to 'evil'. Her blade itself was just scary enough to look at. One giant solid blade that was the same size as the user herself. It reminded me of a single edged blade from a box cutter knife, minus any proper handles or grips that you would find on a normal box cutter knife, and being giant in size. Two handles were built into the giant blade, and it made me wonder two things.

One, just how does she use that giant blade so easily? I mean, it has to weigh at least fifty kilograms. The second things i have to wonder about, and this is probably the more important and puzzling question, is where the hell did she pull that out from? I didn't see her carrying around before, and she just pulled it out of... where? Seriously, you can't just hide something that huge under your shirt. That was just not possible.

"I need a name."

Yukari pressed the guy, who was literally sweating waterfalls.

"I-i don't know his name!"

"Still not good enough."

Was Yukari involved with the Yakuza in her previous life? And how can she keep smiling like that whilst keeping that huge malicious aura? That has to be a skill all by itself.

"I-i swear! I don't know! B-but i do know that he's often seen going into the tunnels that lead to the larger factory."

The guy was literally pissing in his pants. His pants were soaked and he was almost bursting into tears. Still, what he said caught our attention. Larger factory. That was where the explosion occurred. Could the two be related? Yukari smiled, pulling her giant blade out from the ground. She lightly patted the guy's cheek.

"Good boy."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Because some of you may feel like 2 chapters per week is a little so (i think so too), i would increase the number of chapters to 3~4 per week. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Have fun reading.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 21_

_Heart Breaker_

The tunnel leading to the larger factory was one that i had not trekked before as there was no need to before this day. Unlike other tunnels, the ones leading towards the larger factory were larger and wider, possibly used to move larger quantities of supplies to and fro the factories. At the moment, however, the tunnels were a simple scene of chaos. Builders were moving large equipments and supplies to the larger factory by use of small rail-cars that ran on rail tracks that were built to ease the transportation of supplies through the tunnels. However what was going the other way were simple bodies. Dead or injured members were transported out of the larger factory and probably headed towards the infirmary. The explosion must have been larger than i first thought.

"So how are we suppose to find this supplier?"

That's a good question.

"I guess we'll start by first asking around. But before that, who are you?"

I turn around and face the new girl who was clinging onto Yukari like how a koala would cling onto a tree.

"... Takamachi-san, who is this?"

I point to the girl who seemed to be taking the offensive towards me.

"Ah, this is Iris-chan. Testarossa Iris."

Another one? Sure, among the thousands of SSS2 members i would expect a few mixed blood people, but to meet two within such a short period of time. That was just too much a coincidence.

"She seems to hate me."

"Well, yeah, she's usually a nice girl, albeit lazy, but somehow she's quite aggressive to those people i meet."

So it's you that's the problem. And by 'those people' does that mean she's jealous? Wait, jealous?

"Erm... Is she... erm... you know."

"Hm? Oh, yes, she's been attached to me for quite some time. She is quite the cute one, after all."

Yukari smiled, holding up Iris's chin in a rather... erotic(?) manner.

"Takamachi-san... you... you like girls?"

I start to inch away from this... dangerous person. Dangerous, in more ways than one. Yukari seemed to get what i was talking about, and her mischievous smirk returned. I hate that look.

"It isn't that i only like girls. You can say that i like all cute things. You know, Kurogane, you're pretty cute yourself."

Uh-oh. I don't like that look in her eye, and the more i back away, the more she closer she gets. Why is she coming towards me in the first place? Get away, get away, GET AWAY! I stopped as i found my back right up against the wall. Yukari prevented me from escaping, planting her hands against the walls that i was backed up against. I was cornered like a rat.

"You're so cute, acting all so frightened, makes me want to just eat you up. Don't worry, it won't hurt."

Can you stop licking your lips like that? It is seriously scary!

"I would like to refuse that offer."

"Refusal not accepted."

Since when did this school become a maria Lilly garden? Too close! Too close!

"Yukari!"

Iris suddenly pulled Yukari back. Thank you for being jealous.

"What's the matter, Iris-chan? Don't worry, i'll treat you real well too."

Okay... so i need to leave this scene immediately.

"Where do you think you're going, Kurogane?"

Oh crap.

* * *

So this is what Yuki meant by watching myself around Yukari. That girl is dangerous. Not only is the person herself dangerous, but that Iris girl seemed hate me. A lot. Jealously has its limits, and this girl was probably around there too. Still, thanks to Iris, Yukari did not manage to anything more than corner me against the wall. And so back to the job. Iris Testarossa decided to follow us, and now that i look at her carefully, she seemed to fit the image of a 'doll'. Long flowing pale blue hair that bordered close to white, her somewhat large blue eyes staring constantly at Yukari. Stalker did not fit her any more. This was something on a whole new level.

"So how are we going to find this guy?"

Yukari asked, changing my focus from Iris to the tunnel ahead.

"I don't think we can ask just anyone if they've seen someone that fits our description. They're too busy with the explosion that they wouldn't have noticed anyone different or strange."

I reply, taking a look around the main tunnel. There were many smaller tunnels that were attached to the main tunnel, but judging from their size, it wasn't possible to drag a large crate of supplies through those. Even if you could, it wasn't going to go unnoticed since those smaller tunnels were only used to move people, not large crates. So that leaves the main tunnel.

"There must be a separate tunnel that connects the smaller factory to this tunnel up ahead. Or it could be an inside job."

There were just too many variables.

"Don't worry your cute little head about such things. Things will work out, eventually."

Yukari's words of encouragement were not offering much encouragement at all.

"Eventually, huh."

I check my ammunition levels. Though i do not expect a fight to break out, you would never know how a thief like the one we're chasing would react once cornered. I only had one clip left for my pistol. My rifle was completely empty, and the steel pole i took up before to fight Shadows was bent in all odd angles so i threw it somewhere, can't remember where exactly. I should seriously get back to Gen soon, though the prospect of being scolded by him was a rather strong deterrent for me. Yes, i hate being scolded. I don't really know why, but it always evokes some strong pain within me. Probably something to do with my past life. Actually, i don't know anyone who likes being scolded- wait, skip that. Somehow the image of Imagawa came to my head.

"I know of such a tunnel."

Iris suddenly spoke up. When she isn't angry from being jealous or being all giggly and whatever when Yukari is 'spoiling' her, Iris looks pretty much expressionless. Like i said. Doll.

"Really?"

"Yeah, the builders dug it without letting Yuuko knowing. They wanted to get supplies to the larger factory without going through the long route and the inspection."

Iris explained, reaching into her pocket and pulled out a small map which showed the Guild tunnels. She pointed to one particularly large tunnel, this tunnel.

"Inspection is done by Yuuko's personally chosen people, so they are rather strict about what sort of equipment can be used in the larger factory. Yuuko doesn't want random explosions that result from untested or unstable equipment, so she's being extremely careful about what can be used which results in slow shipment of supplies and equipments. This also results in the builders over at the larger factory to be forced to build using simpler tools. This is the tunnel that the builders dug."

Iris pointed to a separate line that connected the tunnel to the smaller factory. While i have no idea why she went through such a long explanation, it certainly did help out with this task.

"Hmm, this is very helpful. But Testarossa-san, why do you have such information?"

Iris looked at me with the same expressionless face she dons when it doesn't concern Yukari.

"I'm part of the Intelligence division. Such information gathering are my expertise."

She produced a camera in her hand. Not a small digital one used by amateur girls just going 'kyaa kyaa' and take a picture of everything they find pink and cute. This was a large professional camera completely with a large lens. Another thing, where the hell did she pull that out from?

"For your information, seventy percent of the memory bank is reserved for Yukari-san only. Of which, forty percent are of her bathing. They are not for sale."

Thanks, i'll keep that mind, not that i would be needing such useless information anyway. Stalker class, confirmed. And there isn't a point to give me a thumbs up. What the hell is that suppose to mean with this sort of context?

"So we're going to check this tunnel. However by the looks of things we're probably looking for an insider."

An insider's job. This doesn't look good. The entire structure of the SSS2 was already unstable. The increase of those stores was a sure sign of the decline of order, and now with this insider being the one responsible for the illegal selling of the much needed supplies, i fear this would only be the beginning. The three of us headed straight for the entrance of the second tunnel, a certain unsettling feeling growing in my gut.

"That's probably because you didn't eat a good meal. Here, i still have some takoyaki from before."

Yukari offered me the snack from before. I'm surprised she didn't finish eating that, and no, i'm not hungry. It's not 'that' kind of unsettling feeling.

"Then what? You're having your period-"

"I SAID IT'S NOT THAT KIND OF FEELING!"

I'm feeling exhausted just dealing with Yukari. No need to worry about some insider job, i'm going to die just from talking to this rather crazy person.

"You should learn to relax. Being too high strung can lead to a lot of health problems."

Health should be the least of my concerns. In fact, it should not be a concern at all in this World. Yukari suddenly grabbed my shoulders from behind with her rather monstrous strength.

"Just relax, and leave it all to onee-san."

"Who the hell is onee-san? And can you take your hands off my shoulders- ITE TE TE TE TE!"

Yukari suddenly pressed her thumbs into my back, causing a whole lot of pain to wreck my body.

"I'm hitting your pressure points. Feels good, doesn't it?"

"FEELS LIKE HELL- OW!"

That definitely wasn't my pressure point!

"You're really stiff, i reckon it's because you're taking things too seriously."

"And you're not taking it seriously enough! And whose fault is it that my back is all stiff- GAH!"

A sudden crack snapped from my back. Don't tell me that was my spine.

* * *

That would be the third time i died this day. I met that Sanzo river old man again, and he was gloating about how i wasn't getting enough exercise and got killed by a mere massage. First off, that wasn't a 'mere massage' but rather a killer wrestling move, and secondly, anyone would die if you snapped your back that hard.

"Ah ha ha ha ha, sorry about that. I tend to forget to hold back."

Yukari laughed. Well, it isn't funny. And please, hold back your crazy strength, not just for me, but forever. Don't use it all. Tie your hands behind your back- no, better yet, cut off your arms. You don't need them.

"... Whatever, we're here."

I don't need to get angry about this. For now, let's just complete this task. The day's been getting too long. We finally reach the secret entrance. Not so much a secret though, since it was only covered by plain cardboard. Just who are they trying to fool here?

"With the heavy traffic in this tunnel, no one would stop to actually take a look."

Iris explained, pushing the cardboard aside to reveal the small, yet wide tunnel. So this was how they moved the crates. Using a short yet wide tunnel, it was possible to move crates of supplies without being detected. Also, if these crates were carried from the direction of the larger factory, the people around the smaller factory would merely assume it is merely equipment coming from the larger factory. Quite a round-about way, but it is rather effective.

"Shall we?"

Yukari gestured for me to enter first. Fine, i'll go in first, just don't do anything to my back. The small tunnel was just at the height where i only need to lower my head slightly. It seems like this tunnel was made for taller guys. I turned around to check on the other two. While Iris had no problem using the tunnel, Yukari was rather forgetful and had bumped her head quite frequently. A little too frequently. Well, at least we did not need to go through the tunnel any longer as suddenly i spotted a person heading towards us from the other direction while pulling a large crate.

"I think we found our suspect."

The moment i said that, the guy noticed our presence. Without warning, he pulled out a gun and started to fire shots at us. Yukari was quick to respond, pulling out her giant cleaver from who-knows-where and placing it between us and the mad gunman. The giant blade deflected most of the shots, allowing us to access the situation.

"Looks like he isn't the type to talk. We may have to take him out."

I sigh, taking a look at my gun. I don't really want to shoot one of our own, even if he may be mad and trying to kill us.

"So, as long as we can get him to stop, anything goes, right?"

Yukari asked, having that same twinkle in her eyes.

"Wha- hey!"

Before i could stop them, Yukari and Iris charged forward with Yukari pushing her giant cleaver to use as cover.

"Iris, now!"

Yukari shouted. Iris did not hesitate, pulling out a knife from a holder strapped to her hip. Without even taking time to aim, Iris threw the knife at the attacker. The knife sailed through the air and stabbed itself into the arm of the guy that held his gun.

"Tch! You damn bitches of Yuuko!"

Is that the best insult he can get? People in these tunnels sure hate authority and dogs. The guy suddenly reached into his pocket, pulling out a grenade.

"He's planning to blow us all up!"

"Not if i can help it."

Yukari smirked, reaching down to her thigh were a belt held in place a whole bunch of nails. These weren't small nails, but rather large five inch nails. With one smooth motion, Yukari drew nails inbetween all of her fingers and threw them at the guy. The nails hit their target, pinning him against the crate he was pulling and dropping the grenade.

"Hissatsu Ougi, Heart Breaker!"

Yukari grabbed her giant cleaver and charged at her target. Kids and those with weak stomachs might want to look away. Yukari rammed her blade into the guy, before taking out a large desert Eagle and aiming it at his head. A split second pause, then she pulled the trigger. Suffice to say the carnage was something that i would not let anyone else see. And i'm starting to feel queasy again. Too much blood. Fighting Shadows was easy compared to seeing so much blood. My breathing became shallow and laboured as my chest tightened up. Don't look. Just don't look at it.

"Oi, Kurogane, are you alright?"

I look up, and saw Yukari covered in blood reach her hand out to me. My vision suddenly shifts. A bloodied hand. Reaching out for me. Death. I was going to die.

"Iyaa!"

I instinctively slapped her hand away. Calm down. That vision wasn't real. It wasn't. I couldn't stop the trembling of my body. Fear wrapped its suffocating claws around me, choking the life out of me.

"Oi! Kurogane!"

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Iris asked, tossing me a bottle of water. I caught the bottle, taking a gulp of the water to wash down the pain at the back of my throat. I had gone into a hysteric state back in the small tunnel before Iris dragged me out, where i then threw up onto the floor. Yukari told Iris to take me back to the smaller factory while she dealt with the corpse before he revives. Swallowing a few gulps, i wiped my mouth, placing the bottle to one side.

"Thanks."

Iris simply nodded back.

"I'm just not good with blood."

"I can tell."

"... Not going to ask?"

Iris looked at me with an raised eyebrow, before she shook her head.

"There isn't a point. Everyone here has a secret, some dark past that forces them to linger on with regrets. There isn't a need to pry into the secrets of another if they do not wish to share it, rather it is pointless to even know about it."

I blinked a couple of times at what Iris said, before i chuckled a little.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just that it seems how simple the answer can be to a rather complicated question."

Iris closed her eyes for the moment.

"... The question is only complicated to those who do not hold the right answers to them."

"And how would we know if we hold the right answer?"

"Only you can be the judge of that. The answer depends on the situation, on the context, and more importantly on the individual. Thus, it affects your perspective of the question. To you, such a question may be difficult to answer, difficult to face. But to others it may be as simple as just ignoring it."

I was quite surprised by what Iris said. Compared to how she acts around Yukari, her current behaviour was a complete opposite. Almost like she's a totally different person. Iris seemed to notice what i was thinking about, her mouth curling slightly into a smile.

"Yukari is rather... different. She has a bright and carefree personality that i find rather... envious."

Iris's tone slightly quivered. I guess what she said before was true. Everyone here has a secret, a dark history that has anchored them to this world. Even Iris would have one.

"... I see that you're rather curious about my past?"

Iris seemed to have that same dangerous huntress look in her eyes like Yukari. Oh crap.

"Don't worry, i'm not going that far with you."

Just what do you mean by 'that far'?

"Er... what about Takamachi-san?"

I feel like i'm getting into the same situation as before as Iris was beginning to corner me the same way Yukari did.

"I grow tired of being the 'uke' all of the time. I like to be 'seme' as well."

Uke? Seme? Those terms sound familiar to me but now isn't the time to be thinking that!

"... But, you'll have to wait a little longer to hear my story."

Iris pulled back, that same mischievous look still lingering in her eyes. For now, i guess i'm safe.

"Secrets are secrets for a reason, Kurogane. Though we may all be dead, the past is something that isn't easy to talk about. The pain we bear is something that we all have carried and faced on our own."

"But isn't it better to share the pain?"

Iris snorted at my reply.

"Some pain may be shared, but it is the invisible scars, the wounds within, that are the ones that are impossible to heal, let alone share. No one can understand the pain another went through, even if they have gone through similar experiences. No two people are alike, even twins."

"Twins..."

Somehow, that word was resonating strongly within me. Another piece of my past? But why? Nevermind. Best not to think about it. At that moment, Yukari turned up, no longer covered in blood and dragging the large crate that rouge builder was trying to smuggle out behind her. Strange enough, Yukari was easily pulling that crate with one hand while that rouge builder was having one tough time using both hands. Yukari wasn't taller than me, therefore shorter than that builder, yet she's stronger?

"Yukari has a skill that some of us call 'NYP'."

Iris explained.

"NYP?"

"Nanka Yoku-wakaran Power (somewhat mysterious power)."

"... I'll take note."

So that explains her crazy strength, though it doesn't explain how or where she got that strength from in the first place.

"Yo, i'm back."

Yukari said and almost immediately, Iris jumped (read as pounced) onto Yukari, clinging onto the other girl like a baby.

"Yukari!"

That was too fast! Her change of personality was too fast!

"I see you're all better now, Kurogane. That's good."

Yukari smiled, slapping me on my back with her crazy strength. It sent me flying.

"Oops. Anyway, we're all good here. Since it's getting late, why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

Yukari suggested.

"What about Senjougahara-san?"

I ask, rubbing my back as i got back to my feet.

"Shinobu-chan? Well, we'll have to deal with her some other time. Don't worry, it'll be our problem. You can go get your pay from Yuki, and thanks for your help."

* * *

Throwing myself onto my bed, i stared up at the ceiling of the small dorms room. This day was sure tiring. But the supplies are secured and would be carried out tomorrow. I'll have to check up on them again to make sure nothing else is wrong. Iris and Yukari. Two rather dangerous individuals and yet they each were reliable in their own way. What Iris told me still echoed in my mind. A secret that everyone has within them. I wonder if i have one too. A dark past that has coiled itself around me, preventing me from understanding my own pain, preventing me from going on. The past that eluded me, escaping my mind and memories.

"... Who am i? Why did i die?"

* * *

A/N: If you're wondering, Takamachi Yukari is modeled after Takamachi Nanoha, the famed white devil from the series, Mahou Shoujou Nanoha. Her name is a mix between the character Takamachi Nanoha, and her respective voice actress, Tamura Yukari. If you haven't watched or heard of Nanoha, you should know that Nanoha is rather infamous for being 'over-the-top' explosive. It may be a magical girl anime, but it is well beyond what small children should be watching. Nanoha has enough power to destroy a planet, let's just leave it at that.

Takamachi Yukari's special skill, Heart Breaker (which is also the title of this chapter) is taken from Nanoha's famous skill, Starlight Breaker, and her magical device, raising heart. FYI, Yukari's giant cleaver is called 'Raging Heart', which is what some fans call Raising Heart due to the similarities in the name when pronounced in Engrish (Japanese English). Although it is a mistake, fans still prefer to call it Raging heart because the name suits the destructive capabilities more than its real name.

The terms 'Seme' and 'Uke' are more common in shoujou manga terminology. Seme means 'assault', whereas Uke means 'Receive'. I don't need to explain it anymore than that.

The NYP, or nanka wokuran pawa, is actually a skill from Kudo in Little Busters! the game. While in Kudo's case, she just thinks she powers up and goes on an unbelievable rush, in Yukari's case, it refers to her monstrous strength.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I apologize for all of the grammar and spelling mistakes in the previous chapter... it was midnight when i realized i hadn't posted that chapter, so i made a quick edit and was quite sleepy by the time i posted it. It's the midterm period again at my University so i'm rather swamped with studies, not to mention October and November are the two months that a lot of anticipated games are coming out. And i mean a lot. I also have to write for my other stories, and i still have anime to watch! My priorities are all wrong... But i would not have it any other way.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 22_

_Answer Song_

Part 8

She wasn't happy, not one bit. Agitated would be more descriptive of her current state. Tapping her foot repeatedly on the floor, Sakurai Yuri observed her club members rush about with the props to get everything ready. The past few nights weren't easy on the club leader as the nightmares intensified and haunted her dreams every night. And during the day she had to deal with idiots who did not know left from right.

"No! I said the fan goes there! Hideki! Where are those explosives i asked for?"

"Are you nuts? Where in Japan can you find explosives readily for sale to a high school kid?"

"Get fireworks!"

"Then say so!"

Yuri sighed, crossing her arms as she continued to watch over the construction of the large set. Since the gym was all booked, Yuri decided to construct her own stage. For the festival, she decided on two different activities. One was the live band, performed by Sawashiro Asami and her band, and the other was a paint-ball tournament. There were some problems with getting that event sanctioned, especially with that stiff vice president of the student council around. Well, good thing that she had Yuzuru on her side.

"Oi, Yuri, i've gotten everything you wanted."

Yuzuru said, walking up to her with arms carrying large bags of goods. Yuri had sent Yuzuru and three other members to go get things from the shops nearby, and seeing as they were tired, Yuri decided to let them rest. Yuzuru passed her a can of coffee, opening one for himself.

"So, how are things going?"

He asked, though maybe he shouldn't have as Yuri literally crushed the unopened can of coffee in her hands.

"Not good at all, Kamiya-kun. If one more slip-up occurs, i'll-"

The sudden crash of one of the steel supports for the stage ticked off Yuri's inner bomb.

"ARGGH! YOU IDIOTS! How many times must i tell you to be careful! Tch, Yusa, we need more supplies."

The silent operator nodded, tapping onto her earpiece phone to make a call. Just how Yusa gets her connections is a complete mystery, but no one really questions it. Yuri sighed, walking off to cool her head. However her recent change of personality was something that Yuzuru seemed to have some inclination towards. Yuzuru headed towards the roof, the place where Yuri liked to go to whenever she needed to think or cool her head. And sure enough, the leader of the SSS was there, sitting on the floor against the railing, staring up into the sky.

"Ah, Kamiya-kun. You found me again."

Yuri said without shifting her gaze. Yuzuru walked over and sat down next to her.

"Something bothering you?"

He asked. Yuri did not reply, but rather raised her hand towards the sky.

"... You asked before, didn't you? About whether all of this was a mere coincidence. That there was something that tied all of us together."

"Yeah, i did ask before. What about it?"

"Do you still believe in it?"

Yuzuru did not know whether he really still believed in it. Before, he held the strong conviction that something was present. Something happened that brought them all together. But as the days passed, his mind became less aware of it, less focused about it. But it wasn't completely gone. There was still a line holding onto a glimmer of hope. Hope? Hope for what?

"Maybe."

Yuri smiled at his answer.

"You know, i've been having these dreams lately. Dreams of a battle. Students fighting against an enemy i could not see. Or rather it was an enemy i could not understand."

"Huh?"

"Let me ask you this, Kamiya-kun, what is life to you?"

Yuzuru was caught by surprise by this question. First of all, he did not expect such a question in the first place to come from Yuri. But it was a question that he had been wondering about since he came here. Just what is life? It might sound cheesy to say this, but he never really felt like he was living until he met Kanade. First Kanade, and then Yuri, then Hideki, then the SSS. It was like it was only through them that he felt alive. So what was life to him?

"... I guess life is simply living each and every day. Studying, having fun with friends, being sad, feeling angry. All of these small and large things, random or calculated. These are all life to me."

"... Are you an idiot?"

Ouch, that statement hurts.

"You asked, didn't you? Besides, it's my definition of life."

Yuri smiled, closing her fist as though she had grabbed onto something in the air.

"I guess it is. I have yet to understand it myself, yet i feel like there is something there. Something that is still eluding my grasp. The answer is out there, and my dreams would lead me there."

* * *

With the day ending, the club members dispersed to go back home. But Yuri still stayed behind. There was something she needed to confirm. Yuri did not head back to the clubroom, but rather headed straight for the student council room. Knocking on the door, she entered without waiting for a reply. Inside the room was the student council president, Hanazawa Kanade, sitting there going through papers and documents that were probably related to the up-coming school festival. Kanade looked up when Yuri entered, but went back to her work.

"Kanade-chan, we need to talk."

Yuri walked over and pulled a chair next to Kanade. The student council president continued to look through her work without paying Yuri any mind.

"It concerns us."

Kanade paused, looked at Yuri with somewhat doubtful eyes.

"Are you like 'that'?"

"No, i'm not!"

In the first place, wasn't that joke supposed to be used only on Hideki?

"So what do you want to talk about? No, your club can't get additional funds, you're already over the limit."

"Tch, dammit- that's not it!"

Kanade sighed, putting down her pen and turning to face Yuri.

"Then what is? Don't tell me it's about Yuzuru."

"It isn't- wait... come to think of it, it is."

At that, Kanade narrowed her eyes.

"Yuzuru is mine. I won't let you get him."

"Wha-, since when was it about-"

"So you're admitting defeat."

That stuck a cord with Yuri. If there was one thing Yuri hated the most, it was losing.

"... FINE! I'll show you! I'll get Kamiya-kun to break up with you and be with me!"

Yuri declared, storming out of the room. Once outside, she took a pause as she recollected her thoughts.

"Wait... why did i go into that office in the first place?"

She scratched her head as she tried to think back of her reason for looking for Kanade. In her quick outburst, she had completely forgotten her original goal and now she's in a stupid competition to win Yuzuru's heart? What sort of reverse dating simulation game is this? To Yuri, Yuzuru was a good friend and supporter of her ideas. But did she really see him as something more? Her face suddenly felt hot as a strange idea floated into her head.

"... This isn't good."

Not good at all.

* * *

Sakurai Yuri had never been one to waver in her decisions. Once she set out to do something, she did it with full force and vigor. But there were just some things that would make her really regret her impulsive nature. As if that weren't enough, she just had to lose her composure and let Kanade get the better of her. Now she went off to make some stupid bet. Wait, it wasn't a bet, more like a challenge.

"... Gah! Why did i go and do something like that?"

Practically hating herself, Yuri threw herself onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow.

"... Just what did i want to talk to Kanade about?"

Her thoughts were getting disorganized as the challenge of getting Yuzuru to be her boyfriend began to occupy her mind. Her face turned red hot as the young man's face barged into her thought processes.

"Nee-chan?"

She looked up, seeing the older of her younger sisters standing by her bed.

"Suzuna? Didn't i tell you guys to knock before entering?"

"I did, but nee-chan didn't answer."

Yuri must be losing her touch. She got up, scratching her head and wondering whether she was alright in the head.

"So, what do you want? I'm not helping you with your homework again."

"That's not it- wait, you won't?"

"No, i won't."

Suzuna sighed, but then quickly regained her composure.

"Well, putting that aside, okaa-sama and otou-sama are going out tonight. They're putting you incharge of everything, including dinner."

Yuri's eyes went wide at that statement.

"EH? They're going out, AGAIN? That happy-go-lucky love-love bakapuru (stupid couple). They leave the house too often!"

"Not my problem. Okaa-sama didn't leave any money for us, so you're going to have to cook."

"ME?"

"Jya, yoroshiku."

"Oi! Suzuna!"

Before Yuri could stop her sister, Suzuna had already left the room. That was fast.

"... Sigh, this isn't the first time they just up and left all of a sudden."

Being incharge. While it has happened before, Yuri was feeling somewhat uneasy. Maybe it was due to the challenge, or the recent sudden flow of events, but Yuri was feeling a sharp pain stabbing her chest.

"I should start to think of what to cook."

Yuri headed out of her room, thinking of what to cook. The last time they went grocery shopping was three nights ago. There should be something left to work with. Yuri suddenly stopped. Standing at the top of the staircase, she looked down with a strange pain wrecking her chest. Her heart pounded hard in her chest as her mind began to produce an image. A strong visual image flickered in and out of her sight. A dark scene. A bloody scene. A small girl trying to carry a large vase down the same stairs. Hurry. You must hurry. Hurry? Why? Who is that girl? Yuri did not know, but all she knew was that that girl needed to hurry and bring that vase down the stairs towards the living room. The lives of those dear to her were depending on it. But the girl suddenly missed a step. She dropped the vase, falling to the ground. The vase shattered, and so was her life.

"No... NOO!"

"Nee-chan?"

Yuri's vision went back to normal. Her younger siblings looking up to her from the bottom of the stairs with worried expressions. Yuri noticed that she was on her knees, cold sweat falling down her features and... tears. Such a strong compelling image that evoked such strong emotional feelings. A mere image? No. Yuri somehow knew that scene. A scene filled with pain, anger, despair and regret. It clung onto her, refusing to let go while screaming into her head the sorrows and anguish. Such a scene left a single name in her mind. A name she did not know yet felt familiar.

"Nakamura..."


	23. Chapter 23

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 23_

_Crimson_

Part 9

Stifling a yawn, i walked over to where Yuuko was. I did not manage to get a good night's sleep due to my thoughts constantly bringing up those damn images. Those images were of my past, that much i know. But they made no sense to me whatsoever, thus it was like watching a horror film that had its frames all messed up. No thanks to that, i now look like i went through a tumble dry cycle of a dryer.

"Yo, Kurochii- te... you look like hell."

Yuuko mused.

"Yeah, thanks. So, i see you're in a better mood today."

"Yup, all thanks to you."

Yuuko smiled, patting me on the back. At least she didn't have Yukari's crazy strength.

"Thanks to you finding the culprit, the supplies can run smoothly once more. The explosion down in the larger factory is also under control."

That ordeal the day before was a rough one, that was for sure. Still, if Iris was part of the intelligence division, and she knew of the tunnel, why didn't the intelligence division do anything? There was something about the intelligence division that just didn't sit right with me. They were always so secretive and quiet. Besides my room-mate and Iris, i had not met another Intelligence division member. Of course, when i told Yuki about my concerns, she simply waved me off.

"The intelligence unit has their own way of doing things. Whether they wish to tell other units of what they know is up to them."

Was what Yuki told me. Kind of selfish though, if you ask me. The entire SSS2 was working as a whole, so if one division doesn't cooperate, the intelligence division in particular, the SSS2 could fall apart.

"Do you think the explosion was linked to the smuggler?"

I ask, walking with Yuuko as she inspected some of the new technologies her Experimenters created. Explosions were very frequent in this part of the factory, though Yuuko was rather used to it. I wasn't.

"Probably. We know that he was smuggling unsanctioned equipments to the larger factory, then bringing spare weapons and supplies to the illegals to sell for meal tickets."

Yuuko explained, tapping onto what appeared to be a large bomb. This girl sure has guts, or she's nuts. Either way, i regret coming here at this time when Yuuko was making her rounds in the experimenting room. I was wondering about where they took that smuggler, but knowing Yuuko's temper, i shouldn't really be asking.

"Anyway, i need your help on something."

Yuuko stopped and turned to me.

"Okay, sure. What is it?"

"I need you to ask around about a gun."

Now that was a strange request. A gun?

"Not any gun, mind you. We're talking about the grand-daddy of pistols that can fit in your pocket. Here, let me show you."

Yuuko brought me over to her office. It was a small container office, like one of those you would find at a construction site. Inside the office were papers. Lots of them, and none of them were organized. The mountain of rubbish that stood in her office practically took up three-quarters of her office. Most of these pieces of paper were scribbles and drawings. These were designs for weapons and equipments. Wading through the mountain of rubbish, Yuuko pulled out a fresh piece of paper. and a mug that was stuff with paper. She took out the paper and waded her way towards a coffee machine.

"Coffee?"

She asked. I shook my head, since i don't take coffee. Yuuko poured coffee into her mug and slowly drank from it as she drew something on the piece of paper. Once done, she handed me the piece of paper. On it was a drawing of what seemed to be a revolver pistol.

"This? This is the gun you want me to ask about?"

"Yup. The smith and wesson 500 Super Magnum. Said to be the biggest and most powerful handgun that you can actually put in your pocket. I would like to make a Pfeifer Zeliska .600 Nitro express, but that isn't a handgun, it's a cannon in the shape of a hand gun. Anyway, i need you to ask around to see if you can gather up more details about the gun."

Gathering up information, wouldn't the intelligence unit be better suited for this kind of job? But this isn't the type of information they would be collecting, would they?

"Why this pistol?"

"Well, when i was still alive, i remember my dad was talking with some American soldiers during a joint training session the JSDF hosted. One of the Americans had a pistol that was quite large. I remember it had a large kick and a big bang. But since i was small at that time, i couldn't quite recall what its shape and structure was really like."

"And you're thinking if you don't have enough information, it'll explode?"

"Yup. I've tried to create it twelve times before, though all failed and exploded in my face."

So this was what she wanted. A large pistol that wouldn't explode in her face.

"Don't you already have a pistol?"

I ask, pointing to her large Taurus Tracker revolver pistol that was dangling by her belt.

"Sure, my baby here can make a hole in a shadow large enough for me to crawl through, but isn't the bigger the bang the better?"

In your case? No, definitely not.

"... Fine, i'll see what i can do."

"Great, oh, and you might want to talk to Gen. He's been looking for you."

Gen. Oh great. Just great.

"Don't worry, i told him not to scold you."

Yuuko, you're not helping.

* * *

And i did get scolded. A lot. Gen was ranting on about how rifles should be handled and how much care he put into making them perfect that my ears blocked out whatever he was saying after he went into the history of the rifles. History of rifles isn't linked to how i scratched my rifle. Dammit Yuuko! You lied! Gen's lecture went on for a full hour before he finally calmed down.

"Sigh... it would be pointless to say any more than this."

Gen sighed. In my opinion, you already said all there is to be said. If you continued on, you'll just be repeating the entire cycle.

"So, boss asked you to find information on her pistol? Sheesh, can't she do things herself?"

Gen studied the drawing a little, before pulling out a piece of paper. He drew out a new sketch of the same pistol. This time it was clearer and more detailed than Yuuko's drawing. As expected, Gen really was an artist.

"Here, this should help. I don't have all of the details, however. You could ask some members of the Assault division since they have some real hardcore gun freaks there."

Gen said as he handed me his revised sketch. Isn't he a gun freak as well?

"Thanks. You said before that you had something for me?"

"Yeah, i did. Hold on."

Gen got up from his work station and walked over to the side of the fitter's corner of the factory. He pulled out a large metal case and carried it over back to his work bench. Dropping the case on the table, he unlatched the locks and opened it. With careful hands, Gen reached in a took out a-

"Katana?"

I ask, looking at the blade sitting in Gen's hands.

"Not any ordinary katana. It's design is more of an iaito. Designed to be fast on the draw, longer than a normal katana. The hilt is of a normal katana, about twenty eight centimetres long. The blade is 3 shaku (909cm) long. Made by Musashi over there."

Gen pointed to one corner where a male student was hammering away on an anvil. Probably another sword.

"Musashi?"

Isn't the name of some legendary swordsman?

"It's what he calls himself. No one knows whether that is his real name or not. Anyway, he's an expert in swords. Made Sakamoto's sword, which i heard you used quite well."

Shiki's sword? That explains it. Sakamoto Shiki's sword was a very well made blade and perfectly balanced.

"Anyway, the first time i saw you i thought you had the form of a swordsman, though it took me awhile to understand what sort of blade would be suited for you. It seems you practised iai-jutsu, right?"

"I guess."

"You guess? Hm, seems like all of your memories aren't back yet."

Apparently not. Gen handed me the blade to test out. The moment i held onto the sword, i immediately felt a strange sensation flowing through my body. This weight, the balance. A sword in my hand. The scene suddenly changed. I'm standing in a dojo. A sword in hand. An unrecognisable face shouting at me. I feel slightly weak, and frightened.

"Kurogane!"

Gen's voice snapped me back. The vision now gone. But what was that?

"Are you alright?"

He asked. I nodded in reply, gripping onto the hilt tightly. Scenes of my past, i think. I still can't get everything straight.

"So? How do you like the blade?"

I study the edge. Near the guard was an engravement of a single character. Kou. My name. But such a character could also be read as-

"Kurenai."

"It's a good blade, right? Musashi is an expert at swords, though he hates guns. What an idiot."

Gen sighed. I don't think you're in any position to talk. You're a gun manaic yourself. Still, one thing that bugs me.

"Why is it 3 shaku? That's very long for a katana."

Not to mention heavy. This could almost be called a nodachi. How the hell am i suppose to practice quick draw with such a long blade?

"Musashi said it fitted with the name."

"... And where did he get the name?"

"Said that it fitted you perfectly. Don't know what he's talking about though."

Seemed to fit me perfectly, huh? Looks like i need to talk to this Musashi person to see what else he knows. It is somewhat weird to ask someone about yourself when you don't know anything about yourself.

"Well, besides the blade, here."

Gen placed another pistol on the table.

"USP Tactical. A good pistol with a balance of reliability and power. Here are some magazines for it, your other pistol and your rifle."

Gen dropped a whole bunch of magazines on his workbench. Great, how am i suppose to carry all of this back?

"... Got a bag?"

"Here."

Gen handed me a small sling bag. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. As i was putting the magazines into the bag, which can actually hold quite a lot more than i expected, Gen placed a watch on the table.

"Take this. It's a new device that boss made."

I picked up the watch, examining it closely.

"What is it?"

"It's a watch, Kurogane, what else?"

"..."

I'm expecting exploding time bomb, or something.

"It also doubles as a communication device. There aren't many going around, so not everyone will have one. However the boss seems to want you to have one, probably to keep track of your information searching for her pistol."

Now i see the real purpose of this watch.

"I also placed an ammo counter in it. You need to key in how much ammunition you currently have, and each time you fire a round, it'll automatically count it."

"... That's really useful, but how does it do that?"

"Not sure."

Wait... if Gen's not sure, then how the hell am i suppose to know if it would explode on my hand or not?

"Don't worry about it, it wouldn't explode. Probably."

'Probably' isn't good enough! Isn't there some other form of insurance?

"And there is just one more thing, Kurogane."

Gen decided to change the topic. You still haven't told me whether it would not explode or whether it will.

"The boss said that you needed a weapon that really defined yourself."

"... What does that mean?"

"I don't know. But since i did say before that you're the type of person who can fit into almost anything, it will be hard to find a single weapon to define your character. Perhaps as you regain your memories, we can have a better idea."

Character, memories. Although i do want to regain my memories, a certain fear was holding me back. What was i going to discover in my past? Was i going to regret ever regaining my memories? I don't know. I really don't know.

* * *

Grabbing the tray of food, i headed off to find a place to sit. The lunch crowd wasn't large, with more NPCs wondering around than the SSS2 members. I look at my watch, and saw that it was already lunch time, so where did all of the SSS2 members go? If it was important, someone would have sounded an alarm, if there was an alarm in the first place. Finding an empty table, i walked over and placed my tray of food down, pulling a chair sit. But once i sat down, i noticed that i wasn't alone. Sitting right across from me at the same table was-

"Goudatera-san?"

The small sized Guild member was rather angry. Either because i didn't notice she was there, or that i said her name. Either way, this wasn't looking good for me. Where are my ear plugs?

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING GOUDATERA?"

Too late.

"... Then what is your name?"

I ask, looking at what is around her that she could be using as a substitute name. She's eating a plate of Yakisoba. Surely she wouldn't use her own food as a name-

"My name is Yakki Souba!"

Ah, she really did use her own food as a name.

"... Jya, Yakki-san. What brings you here?"

"I'm eating lunch, what else?"

Takako shot back at me.

"Sorry, just i didn't see you there when i sat down-"

And there goes my big mouth.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL?"

I did not say small specifically, but i guess that's what i meant.

"Ah... sorry about that. Still, i thought Guild members don't usually come to the cafeteria to eat."

And i thought they all wore the Guild overalls. Yet Takako wore the SSS2 uniform, not to mention she also wore the male's blazer over her uniform.

"Even if we rarely come up to the cafeteria, it doesn't mean we don't come here at all."

Takako explained.

"... I've been wondering something, Gouda-, i mean Yakki-san."

That was close. I nearly slipped up.

"What?"

"I have to wonder. Why aren't you wearing the uniform of Guild?"

"... Huh?"

Takako raised an eyebrow and looked at me with a 'are you stupid?' look.

"I mean, you're part of Yuuko's Guild, right? So normally you would be dressed in the Guild overalls."

"As if i would be caught dead wearing those things."

Takako snorted, poking at her yakisoba meal. So Takako hates wearing the overalls? Can't say i blame her. Those overalls look somewhat... sweaty.

"Hmmm... so, which part of Guild do you work for anyway?"

"I'm in a separate division from Guild. Mainly on field testing equipments."

Takako explained.

"Field testing?"

"You saw the DAR, that's a one of a kind equipment and i'm the one to test it."

I'm guessing that even Yuuko wouldn't touch that robot. It doesn't seem all that safe anyway.

"I heard you got a job from boss herself?"

"Yeah, she needed details about a pistol she wanted. Here's a sketch Gen gave me."

I passed the sketch to Takako to see. After taking a quick look, she passed the sketch back. She too took out a piece of paper and started to draw on it. Do all Guild members carry pieces of paper and pen? I guess since they are the ones creating weapons and ammunition, having paper to draw or write down the memories would be easier to work with. However, Takako's drawing was... something else.

"Done."

Takako passed me her sketch.

"... What is this?"

I ask, unsure of what i was looking at.

"The pistol."

"... Scribbles?"

"Don't underestimate modern art!"

But pistols and modern art are two very separate things! In fact, they aren't even in the same World! One is an expression of various emotions, the other is the expression of one emotion, and probably used to destroy all other emotions as well. A sudden beeping sound caught my attention, and i noticed my new watch was flashing a blue light. I pressed the light, since i did not really know what else to press, and a sort of static sound came through.

_'".. He-... hello-... can-... hear-... dammit-..."'_

The feed was quite bad.

"Let me see."

Takako said, though without even waiting for me to reply, she grabbed my arm and took a closer look at the watch.

"Hmm... the transmitter wasn't set in right. Hold still."

Takako pulled out a screwdriver from her pocket, which is a rather amazing sight to behold in itself, and quickly unscrewed my watch. Her speed and precision was quite amazing, and within ten seconds, she was done.

"Try it now."

I tapped the light once more and this time the sound feed that came through was clear.

_'"Hello? Can you hear me?"'_

Yuuko's voice came through the watch.

"Er... Yuuko?"

_'"Ah, good. So it works. Say, you're with Gouda-chii now, right?"'_

"MY NAME IS YAKKI SOUBA!"

_'"Oh good, she's there. Tell her that her gundam is spewing smoke from the main body and she needs to get back down here now. Have fun!"'_

The transmission was cut just as Takako was really about to blow her top.

"It isn't a gundam! I keep telling that dumb boss that it's the DAR!"

Takako grumbled, placing her chopsticks aside. Instead, she grabbed the plate with both hands, brought the plate up to her mouth, and literally dumped the entire yakisoba into her mouth. After a few instances of chewing, she swallowed everything. In one go.

"Alright, time to go."

Takako got up from the seat (jumped off the chair), and turned to go. But just before i could stop her, she walked straight into a glass wall.

"Nyah! What the- WHO PUT THIS HERE?"

That would be whatever being created this World. I felt slightly worried for Takako, so i quickly drained my bowl of ramen. It should be noted that though i can copy how Takako inhale her food like a vacuum, it is a completely different story if my body can actually tolerate such an action.

"I feel sick."

I cover my mouth to prevent myself from throwing up my lunch. Note to self, don't copy useless skills. I walk over to Takako when suddenly my head collided with something.

"Ow!"

I rub my head as i look at what i hit. A glass wall. This was bad. Real bad. I was beginning to unconsciously copy the useless skills that Takako was doing!

"What are you doing?"

Takako asked. Well, to be honest, i'm just copying you. Which is a very bad idea and unfortunately there are just some things that my body would copy without realizing. Then Takako handed me something. A motorcycle helmet.

".. What's this?"

I don't need a helmet to walk around, thanks. It is you would needs it more than me anyway.

"You're coming along, right?"

"Er... yeah."

"Then put this on."

Takako pushed the helmet into my hands before she headed out of the cafeteria, not before walking straight into another five glass walls. Still, i look at the helmet she handed to me. A helmet? Don't tell me she was planning some grand way of going back to Guild. My thoughts somehow imagined an even larger robot than the DAR, probably named RAD or something stupid. A helmet. Why do i get the feeling i'm going to regret following her? Taking the helmet, i followed Takako out of the building. Parked right outside the cafeteria was a large golden bike. A motorbike. An American chopper to be exact. Engines roaring out and deafening my ears. The very ground seemed to shake from the sheer power that engine was putting out. However there was one problem with the bike of that size. With Takako taking the handles, she looked like a mere child on that. Best not to say anything.

"Are you getting on?"

Takako asked. Her legs were barely touching the pedals on the bike, so i was rather hesitant about getting onto this machine with her. Still, i was worried about Takako.

"Alright... Hang on."

Putting on the helmet, i got on the back of bike and grabbed the seat i was sitting on for support. But in doing so only made Takako turn and stare at me.

"... You're going to fall off like that."

She said.

"... Then what?"

"Hold onto me. That way you won't fall off so soon."

Hold onto her? Is she nuts? She has a body mass of a baseball bat and the height of one too. Okay, so she isn't exactly a baseball bat, but you get the picture. But fine, i'll grab onto her. Wrapping my arms around her tiny waist, i started to pray. I was never religious, never plan to be, but if there is a mysterious force out there. I beseech you to make this trip as painless as-

"Here we go!"

I spoke too soon.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Sorry that i didn't post yesterday. I was busy with my midterms and essays and pulling out my hair. I was also trying to find time to finish Fallout New Vegas, and already story ideas are popping in my head. But i won't be posting that story up, since my first Fallout fic was a complete bust. Oh well. With Fable 3 coming out soon, together with CoD black ops and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood coming out next month, i'm losing time to do other stuff. I'll be starting up the second part of this fic soon, so once all of these chapters for this first half are up, i can start the second part.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 24_

_Name of my cage_

I seriously thought i was going to die. I slid off the seat and crashed into the floor. I had never felt such joy and happiness just by being so close to the dirt of the Earth! I want to kiss you dirt, if only i could move. Takako's driving was just borderline crazy. I have never felt so scared for my life since i arrived in this World. And i'm already dead. A lot of things in this World just doesn't make any sense. Takako got off the bike, taking her helmet off and my eyes bore witness to another mystery that is Takako. Even when she takes off that helmet, her hair is still in that standing spiked position. Just what type of wax did she use? Wait, is that wax in the first place?

"Yo, Gouda-chii, good thing you came back. Your gundam is making more noise than an NPC with bad grades."

Yuuko smiled, walking over to us. As expected, Takako wasn't happy about Yuuko calling her by her real name. And about her robot being labelled as a gundam.

"MY NAME IS GOURUDEN BAIKU! And it's not a gundam! It's a DAR 487!"

Takako yelled at the top of her lungs. She changed her name again, this time using her bike as a reference.

"Hai hai, well, your gundam is spewing smoke. Are you going to check on it or what?"

Takako wanted to complain, but a sudden explosion from her robot's hangar bay caused her to drop the conversation and head straight to her robot.

"Oh, Kuro-chii, you sure love the floor, don't you?"

Yuuko turned to gloat at me. Whatever, keep laughing it off. Finding my strength returning, i push myself off the ground, dusting my uniform to get rid of most of the dirt.

"So, did you get any information on the gun?"

Yuuko asked, to which i shook my head.

"It hasn't even been half a day, Yuuko. Besides, after i left Guild i headed straight for the cafeteria."

"Ah, then you met Gouda-chii there, huh?"

Maybe not the best idea i had, but since i was here, what was i to do?

"Goudatera-san is... quite the character. Made me hit my head into a glass wall."

"Glass wall? Ah, you must mean one of Gouda-chii's 'special' skills. Still, your ability to copy other people's skills is rather bad against Gouda-chii."

Yuuko laughed. Well, since Takako has so much useless skills, i guess my abilty to copy other people's skills was pretty much pointless.

"Did you know that Gouda-chii can recite pi backwards?"

"..."

Did Yuuko just say what i thought i heard her say? What was that? Pi? Backwards?

"... HUH?"

Wait a damn minute. Recite pi backwards? Was there even an END to pi?

"Erm... Yuuko, i don't even think that's possible."

"Really? Never thought so. Anything is possible in this World, well, almost anything."

No no, even if crazy things can happen in this World, there has to be a limit, right? Pi was a mathematical mystery that will never end. There will never be an end to that!

"Oi! One of you two come and help me!"

Takako shouted from where her robot was.

"Well, that's your cue. I have to go er... check up on things!"

Without another word, Yuuko ran off. Damn her, she just wanted to escape.

"Are you coming or what?"

"Alright, alright..."

I walked over to where Takako was, watching her legs flail about as she had more than half of her body inside the robot to repair it.

"I need a spanner. Whoever is out there can you toss me one?"

Takako called out from inside the robot. I look around and spotted a toolbox by the side of the giant robot. As i bent down to pick it up, my eyes spot something scratched onto the metal body of the robot. The sentence 'Made by Yuuko' had been scratched off, though not enough to prevent me from reading it. My guess is that Takako made this robot and Yuuko simply pasted her name on it. The boss of Guild was sure a rather impulsive and unpredictable person. A little too easy-going as well.

"SPANNER!"

Takako's voice yelled out. I grabbed a spanner from the toolbox and looked to where Takako was. Her legs were still the only thing visible. Looking at the height of where Takako was on the robot, and at the spanner itself, i decided to do something. Not exactly my brightest idea, but still, i hate to climb up there. Rearing back, i threw the spanner. The large metal tool flew up, and into the hole where Takako was. I heard a loud clunk, right before a-

"NYAH! WHO THE HECK THREW THAT?"

Takako stuck out her head, where a rather large lump was visible right on top.

"... Yuuko ran away."

I said when she glared at me. True, Yuuko did run away, and i did not say it was Yuuko who threw it.

"That damn woman... Wait till i get my hands on her. Kurogane, since you're here why not help me out? In return i'll help to construct that pistol."

Construct? Well, that would certainly help me out. Still, i hate to climb up this robot. How do i climb up this thing in the first place?

"Are you coming?"

Sighing, i started to climb the large robot. The smooth surface wasn't making it easy to climb, but i made to up to the top nonetheless. This was pretty high up.

"Here, you might want to put this on."

Takako handed to me gloves, some woolen gloves that looked hand-made. Well, of course they were hand-made. But just before i was about to thank Takako, i noticed something odd about the gloves. They were both the same side. Both right sided gloves, exactly identical.

"... Erm... Gouda-, wait no... er... Gouruden-san?"

Takako did not respond, concentrating simply on her repairs.

"... Gouruden-san?"

Still no reply. Maybe i got the wrong substitute name. Oh well, here goes nothing.

"Goudatera-san?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING GOUDATERA? MY NAME IS DEKA ROUBO!"

She shouted in face with the distinct smell of garlic in her breath. Deka Roubo. Another new substitute name coined up in less than a minute from her last one. She changes names more often than i change my clips during a Shadow fight.

"... Anyway, i wanted to ask about these gloves."

"Huh? Oh, i only have those."

Takako said, turning back to her repairs.

"Only have these? But these are only right handed gloves."

"Yeah. I made them myself."

"Still you-... wait, you made them yourself?"

"Yeah, got a problem with them?"

Too many to list, to be honest. Takako stopped her work for the moment, looking straight at me. Was there something on my face?

"Let me ask you something, Kurogane, how does it feel like, being able to do anything?"

What? What was she saying?

"Wha-"

"Just answer the question."

"... I guess... i don't really know. My memories haven't returned as of yet. Maybe i was happy about it in my previous life, maybe i wasn't. I can't really tell how i'm suppose to feel about this."

"Are you stupid?"

Takako raised an eyebrow, slamming the spanner in her hand against the metal shell of her robot.

"It doesn't matter about your past life. Sure, it may change your outlook on things, but what matters now is now. How you see your life as of now. Your memory loss should be a blessing. There are a lot of people here who would rather forget their past."

"... But what good is there for me if i cannot remember anything about myself?"

"You would never know the value of something till you have either lost or gained it. You cannot judge that not having memories is automatically a bad thing."

"Would that apply to my ability?"

"Probably."

Probably isn't really a good answer.

"... To be able to do anything, it would certainly invoke a lot of envy from others."

Takako's tone suddenly changed, her expression a mix of pain and sadness.

"There are people who were born unable to do anything. Confined to a bed like a bird trapped in a cage. No, in my case it may be a bird who has its wings torn off."

"..."

I did not know what to say to Takako. This wasn't the right type of mood to say anything.

"When i was born, i was immediately diagnosed with a severe heart disease. Bradyarrhythmia, it's a condition in which the heart has a slow and irregular heart beat. Because of it, i was constantly confined to a bed by my over-paranoid parents, unable to have a normal life like other normal kids. In most sense, i would be the kid who was unable to do anything at all, a vast contrast to you."

Takako forced a smile through her pained expression.

"But, i still managed to find joy in small things that i had and things i could do. Small, really useless things. What use is carving a garden gnome out of chalk for? Able to knit only one sided gloves, able to win at janken (rock, paper, scissors game) 97 percent of the time, able to eat food very fast, make people deaf when i hiccup. All of these are pointless skills, and yet they were simple and i was proud of them."

Is it me or did Takako just name quite a serious number of really useless redundant skills? But she did have a point.

"I'm sure that you had a lot of people despise you in your past life because of what you can do, Kurogane, but it doesn't matter now. When you wear that uniform, you're part of us. You watch our back and we'll watch yours. Do not care what others say. Everything is a matter of perspective. To each and everyone of us, there exist a different definition of perfection. To strive to achieve what we cannot grasp, to gain the impossible, that is what most people spend their lives doing. It seems to be a pretty stupid thing to do since no one is able to reach such goals and dreams. And yet they still hopelessly try to reach for it, because that single objective is the only thing that drives them to live. That simple idea is what most people define as perfection. Until you find yours, just remember what i said."

To the current me, the imperfection around me would already be considered perfection. To me, a person who cannot remember anything about my past, just being here is considered a blessing.

* * *

"Idiots, just a loose circuit and they are all crying back to me."

Takako muttered, wiping the engine oil off her face before closing the hatch of her robot. Jumping off, she took one look of admiration for her robot before turning to me.

"Right, since we're done with this, i'll help you with the pistol."

We walked over to the side of the hangar, where Takako's work bench was. Her work bench was unlike Gen's or Yuuko's. Gen's work bench was covered with guns and ammunition. Yuuko's was littered with paper designs. Takako's bench was... well, it was a mess as well. But it was not covered with weapons, or paper designs. It was covered with... scribbles? I mean, really, a whole heaping bunch of black lines intersecting and interloping with one another. A three dimensional scribble. I did not even know that was possible.

"Let's see... it looked like this, right?"

Takako drew another sketch, another scribble.

"Er..."

"Okay, just wait a moment."

Before i could stop her, Takako grabbed a bunch of dirt from a barrel filled with it next to her work bench. Placing the lump of dirt on her work bench, she stretched her hands, cracking her knuckles and raising her arms like some over reacting orchestra conductor about to start his performance. Or a mad scientist about to dig into a fresh corpse. Either way, this doesn't bode well for the lump of dirt.

"Let's begin."

Takako's hands charged straight into the dirt with such ferocity and energy that i thought something was going to explode. Most likely Takako herself. For some odd reason i could hear Beethoven's fifth symphony in the background. Or was it just my imagination?

"Done!"

"That's fast!"

Takako turned around and proudly handed me... scribbles. Erm... what is this suppose to be, may i ask? Because i don't think this is a pistol, no matter which angle you look at it from.

"It's exactly as i drew it, see?"

Takako beamed proudly. Yes, i can see that it is exactly as you drew it. Each curve and turn is exactly the same. BUT THIS ISN'T WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR! Just how do you create a scribble into a three dimensional form? But more importantly, just how bad are your design skills? You're a member of Guild, right? So why not use your Guild skills to actually DO GUILD STUFF.

"Hmm? Not good enough. You're a tough one to please. Hold on. I got just the thing."

It's not that i'm tough to please, it's just that you're not trying hard enough!

"Here! This should be better."

Takako handed me a... block of wood. A square block of wood. Ah, i can see how perfectly symmetrical this block of wood is. Such perfection in a square cube- IS NOT WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!

"Hmm, still no good? Then what about-"

"Okay! Okay! I think i'll go to find more information on the pistol. Thanks for the help."

I stopped Takako before she could make another scribble, or cube. Just what the hell am i suppose to with these two odd objects?

"Oh? Alright. I guess since the boss asked for it, you need to make sure it doesn't just blow up accidentally. You have the makings of a great Guild member, ever thought of joining?"

Takako asked. No, i don't have the makings of being a fitter or builder. It's just i can't hand Yuuko a scribble or a block of wood.

"I see, so i guess i couldn't help you out. Well, why not i give you a present instead?"

A present? From Takako? I think i should get out of here, now. But just as i was about to make my escape, an iron chain shot out from behind and wrapped itself around me.

"Wha-"

Before i could even register what was going on, the chain was yanked backwards, pulling me along as well. Falling backwards onto the floor, i hit my head pretty hard.

"Ow... What the-"

Looking up, i saw a smirking Takako. A rather evil smirk plastered on her face like it was taken from some comic book. Probably had the words 'why so serious' written all over it.

"Where do you think you're going, KU. RO. GA. NE-san?"

The way she pronounced each syllable of my name like it was its own sentence was really setting the mood of torture and evil-doings.

"I have something something reeeeaaaal nice for you."

"Eto... i'm guessing you're not going to let the chain loose?"

"Nope."

So much for hoping. Takako literally dragged me across the hangar, not caring if i suffered any friction burns. Though i know they will heal, it still hurts. A lot.

"Erm... don't mind me asking, but what exactly is this chain?"

I know that it isn't some ordinary iron link chain. The tightness and the way it still held onto me like it was alive wasn't normal.

"Ah, like it? It's my own special weapon. A chain to bind the flightless bird. Made from links of hopes and possibilities that i could never reach. This chain allows me to grab onto anything and fling it. Want to try?"

A chain that represents Takako. This must be what Gen was telling me earlier, about finding out more about my past to create a weapon that truly defined me. While i would say no to that offer of Takako's, i still had to wonder about her chain. Did it really represent all of the things she failed to achieve in her life?

"... What if the chain represents a possibility of reaching your goals?"

Takako stopped the moment i said that.

"What makes you say that?"

"I mean, it can link onto anything, so doesn't that mean that it represents your many pains and experiences that would help you reach out?"

Takako stared at me, rather surprised by what i said. Did i say something wrong or odd? That's probably the case. I've been warned by Yuki that i tend to say odd things way too often. This is probably the case again. Takako suddenly burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as she laughed extremely hard, banging her fist against the floor as she rolled around the floor, still roaring with laughter. Yeah, i must have said something odd.

"Ah~ you say some weird things, Kurogane."

"... Thought so."

"But, it isn't wrong. I did say it before, didn't i? That everyone has their own interpretation and definition of perfection. That also applies to their view of things."

"So... what does that mean?"

Takako smiled at me.

"It means, Kurogane, that seeing things from another angle isn't so bad from time to time. Don't you think?"

Takako's chain loosened, allowing me to be free of my very odd imprisonment. With one good yank, the chain retracted and coiled itself in Takako's hand before she tucked it into her blazer. Wait, where exactly did she put it in?

"Come here, Kurogane. This is what i wanted to give you."

Takako walked over to where a certain medium sized object was covered with a cloth sheet. I got up to my feet, walking over to the object. Judging by its size, it had to be a really big gun, or a really big piece of wood. Seeing as how Takako's normal products look like, i'm betting on the latter.

"And here it is."

Takako pulled the sheet away, revealing... a bike? A sleek motorcycle, completely black coated, the motor and exhaust were chrome and clearly reflected my face in them. This is-

"A Suzuki GSX-R1000. The boss had asked me to make this for you some time ago, probably a present for your participation in the assault we did a week ago."

I was quite surprised by this. A motorcycle, mine? Yuuko asked Takako to make this? But how? I mean, Takako's works were mostly-

"I know what you're thinking. If there is one thing i'm good at making, it's gnomes- wait, not that. I'm one of the few people in Guild who can make vehicles. Of course, i had to pull some others to help with the build, but in the end the product is working just fine. Want to give it a spin?"

Takako grinned, tossing me the keys to the bike.

"But- but i can't drive!"

"Eh? Are you kidding me? Weren't you riding with me just now? Just use your dumb ability."

So my ability is now dumb, huh. Pushing me onto the bike, Takako shoved a helmet onto my head.

"Safety first."

I don't want to hear that from you.

* * *

A/N: In this chapter, the characters talk about their own skills which makes it sound unrealistic, but i found it hard to convey what their skills actually were just by their actions. Besides, thanks to Yuuko, everyone more else treats this afterlife as a game. A dangerous game. This would be a type of delusion that the students would try to get into so as to prevent their minds from going insane.


	25. Chapter 25

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 25_

_Bullet for your Thoughts_

Although i had sort of gotten used to riding this motorcycle, i was still rather unsure of whether i should be riding this. Sure, by riding with Takako i had gotten an idea of how to ride this thing, but it isn't like i can copy her a hundred percent. I could ride this, if you ignore all of my wobbles and near collapses. Still, using this was much easier for me to go through the tunnels of Guild faster. For now, i should head to where the Assault division was. I was told that they had some weird gun freaks there. Now that really had my attention. I wouldn't know anything who could compete with Gen when it came down to guns. I took the next exit, driving up the ramp and out of the tunnel.

This tunnel's exit was in the forest up on the hill next to the school. I had always wondered just how far these trees would go, but that wasn't my job. The forest was quite thick, though there were paths that were made by the SSS2 members to make trekking easier. The assault division was currently doing some drills up in the forest and hills, since practising on school grounds would result in the discipline committee chasing after them. I slowed the bike down upon reaching a clearing where a bunch of tents were pitched. It seems i've reached the assault division's camp, though none of the members were in sight. Were they on some training run at the moment? I stopped the bike and turned the engine off, taking my helmet off my head and hanging it on the bike's handles. Taking a walk around the camp, i came to realize that the assault division had left behind quite a bit of supplies, not to mention that everything was in disarray. It was like they left in a hurry.

"... An enemy attack?"

I wonder, crouching to ground to observe some tracks in the dirt. Deep impressions from a small foot. Running foot prints. Judging from the arrangement of the foot prints, i would say that the entire camp was in chaos at one point. I did not like the look of this. Something happened in this camp, and it clearly did not spell anything good for the assault division who were here. I pulled out my pistol, turning off its safety and got to my feet. It's been a long while since the Shadows attacked anyone during the day, and Yuki did say that it would only be a matter of time before the Shadows recuperate and launch a counter-offensive. Was now the time? The rustling of a bush caught my attention, and i swung my gun in that direction. The enemy was still close-by. No time to call for back-up, i'll have to deal with this myself.

The situation was already bad enough with the constant problems arising from within the SSS2 itself. Now was not a good time for the Shadows to reappear. It wouldn't be a good time anyway if they were to appear. The silence that fell upon the camp made my heart beat seem louder than before. I was feeling tense. Extremely tense. I had not been active in combat since that night assault, so i was beginning to feel as though i had lost my touch. Wait a minute, wouldn't it be more awkward to actually have a 'touch' for fighting in the first place? The rustling of bushes became louder, and more frequent. It came from all direction. I was surrounded. Drawing my second pistol, i pointed my guns at different directions. If i were to go down, i would take as many of them as i can with me. Doesn't that sound like a line from some B grade action movie? Suddenly a figure jumped out from the bushes, making me point both of my guns at... what?

"Gah! We're back!"

Fujibayashi Kyou sighed, panting heavily as she was covered with dirt. Wearing a grey singlet with dark brown pants with boots, Kyou looked like an army trainee who just rolled through mud. It was then that she noticed me, who still held both of my guns at her.

"Kou? What are you doing here? And why are you pointing those things at me?"

I look down and saw that my guns were really still pointing at her. Heaving a sigh of relief, i turned the safety back on and holstered both pistols. One by one, the assault division members came through the bushes into the clearing, each of them covered with dirt and looking extremely tired.

"Eh? You thought that the Shadows had attacked us?"

Kyou stared at me in surprise when i told her what happened. Sitting in Kyou's tent, i could not help but wrinkle my nose at the smell of sweat and dirt. Kyou shared her tent with Tomoyo and Shiki, and the three of them all smelt bad. Real bad.

"Try to put up with the smell. Ein decided to have all of us do drills without any sign of a break."

Kyou explained, handing me a canteen of water. I politely refuse, thinking that this sort of water would not exactly be my first choice to drink after hearing what Kyou and the others went through.

"A few hours ago Ein all of a sudden decided that we needed to go hiking through the forest. We did not have time to get ready as he started shouting at us and barking strange orders. Anyway, glad that jog managed to cool his head."

Kyou sighed, pouring some water over her head to wash the dirt out of her hair.

"I'm sure he's pretty cooled off, considering he fell into that large hole in the ground and died."

Tomoyo pointed out. Ah, maybe dying really does cool one's head. If it was able to cool colonel mc bear's head, then surely it would cool off anything.

"Speaking of which, where is Ein?"

Shiki asked.

"He's being all depressed in his tent. Can't blame him though, he fell into that hole right in front of all of the new recruits. That really ruined his image of being a scary leader."

Kyou said, throwing her canteen into her pile of belongings before throwing herself onto her sleeping bag.

"So, Kou, why are you here?"

"Oh yeah, i came here looking for information for a pistol. Heard that there are some people in the assault division who are really into these things."

I took out the sketch Gen did and handed it to Kyou, who looked at the pistol sketch with some interest.

"I'm guessing it's a favor from Yuuko?"

Tomoyo asked.

"Obviously. Only that woman is insensitive enough to ask other people to do her dirty work for her."

Shiki said, and i think that what Shiki said was quite true.

"You should look for the Otaku."

Kyou said, passing me back the sketch.

"Otaku?"

"Ah, that's what everyone calls him. A real gun nut. His tent is the one next to the ammunition crate."

The words 'how typical' came to everyone's minds as evident by the expressions on their faces.

"Usually the word 'otaku' refers to someone who shows a rather unhealthy obsession with anime and manga, right?"

Tomoyo asked.

"Not really, but it has become more or less the defining term that the general public uses. Otaku refers to someone who shows a large interest and obsession over a certain genre. You can be a train otaku, for example."

I explain to Tomoyo, who seemed to be nodding her head and taking down notes in her mind. Is this really such an important lesson to learn about word definitions?

"I didn't know you knew much about the term, Kou."

Kyou spoke up, still lying on her sleeping back while grabbing a protein bar from her military styled backpack and chewing on it though cringing at its taste.

"... Now that you mention, i didn't realize that i knew the definition till you told me."

"Hmm... perhaps you were an otaku yourself in the past? And so you feel the urge to correct everyone you meet?"

"Kyou, even as a joke that isn't funny."

"My bad."

Sighing, i got up to my feet, heading towards the exit of the tent.

"I better go see this Otaku guy."

"Yeah. Oh, and if you see Ein, tell him that we really need a bath."

Exiting the tent, i looked around the camp for the ammunition crates. A large majority of the assault members were in their tents, all resting and groaning from their five hour hike. Some members were lumbering around the camp like zombies, which would be rather ironic for this World. I spotted the ammunition crates at the other end of the camp and headed straight for it. This camp smelt of bad sweat and dirt. Maybe i should find Ein before finding the Otaku. But then maybe that Otaku would also go off to get cleaned, and that would waste more time. I guess i'll just have to put up with the smell and... humidity. It's starting to make me sick just being in this camp. This wasn't a camp for the SSS2 members any more, this was like a death camp, filled with dying and decaying bodies. This smell is too nauseating for me, i need to find either a gas mask, or a bucket to vomit into. Make mental note, never ever join the assault division. Upon reaching the tent next to ammunition crates, i was slightly hesitant to step inside.

But still, Yuuko had given me all sorts of help and items that i felt obligated to help her. This was all probably part of Yuuko's plan, to shower me gifts and help so that i would be forced to help her with her crazy whims. Taking a deep breath, i stepped into the tent. And i banged my foot almost immediately against something hard the moment i stepped into the tent. After swearing a few profanities that should not be read or written out, i look down to see what i hit. A giant shell. A tank round to be exact. What the hell is a tank round doing in a tent? And besides, weren't all tank rounds in the Guild since Yuuko's tanks are able to move about without exploding in anyone's face?

I looked around the tent, spotting guns, weapons, ammunition, more guns, more weapons, more ammunition, even more guns, even more weapons, even more- ah, you get the picture. And doesn't this guy have anything else besides weapons? Where does he sleep? Where are his provisions? More importantly, where is the guy? All i can see in the tent are weapons and ammunitions. Rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, a corpse buried under a mountain weapons, gatling gun, grenades, submachine guns, heavy machine guns- WAIT, a corpse?

"... Is he... alive?"

I picked up stick, poking and prodding the body to see if there were any reaction coming from it. No response. Now i'm at a slight lost at what to do. In the first place, why did i see this corpse as a rather natural part of the scene? I think i'm getting too used to this World. I don't even bat an eye to a dead body.

"Mnmnghmm..."

The body suddenly moved, making me jump a little.

"Mmmm... hm? Who are you?"

The body, or rather, guy, blinked sleepily a couple of times at me.

"... I'm er... Kurogane Kou. I was told you could help me with a pistol."

"... Pistol?"

The guy seemed to be slightly out of it. Can't say i blame him though, since the entire assault division ended up going for a marathon worthy of the Olympics gold.

"Erm... you are the Otaku, right?"

I ask the rather ragged guy in front of me. With short cut hair and a rather blank expression, the best way i can describe this guy is... plain. Too plain. His appearance alone would not make you look at twice. Your eyes can scan a crowd and you would not even bat an eye when you see him. In fact, you have a dozen clones of him and gather them all in one place you would not even think of it as odd, let alone find him. You can't even find his face amongst a crowd of clones, that is how common and plain looking he is. But other than that, he seemed to be... rather older looking. Almost like he was in college. A rounin? I don't know. For some reason i can picture him with a small girl clinging to his arm and calling him 'father'. What sort of image is that?

"Ah... i'm Okuta... Akiba Okuta, nickname Otaku. Yoroshiku."

Okuta stifled a yawn as he scratched the back of his head. Still tired, i guess.

"Sorry to wake you when you're so tired but-"

Okuta raised his hand to stop me in mid-sentence.

"Kurogane-san, don't you know that life is best taken one step at a time?"

And what the hell are you talking about?

"Let me ask you this, Kurogane. Do you see life as too short to waste time on trivial things? Or too short that each and every small detail is worth a thousand lives?"

Let me ask you this in return, are you crazy? What does this question have to do the pistol? Fine, let me humour you just this once.

"... Too short to waste time?"

"Then you would miss the finer things in life."

"I'm dead, there's nothing to miss."

"And so you are. Pass me that."

He pointed at a certain rifle that was leaning on the side of the tent. I picked it up and handed it over to him.

"You don't know how to treat guns properly, do you?"

He asked, holding onto his gun gingerly and delicately like it was some piece of fine jewellery. Or like a baby.

"So? What is it that you want?"

"... Yuuko asked me to find details on a pistol. Asking around led me to you."

I passed him the sketch of the pistol.

"Hmm... i see. She's looking for the Smith and Wesson .500 super magnum. Got to hand it to Himura-san, she sure knows her stuff."

I could see a rather dangerous glint in Okuta's eyes, almost like Yukari. A hunter who spotted its prey. A very hungry hunter, i might add. Okuta? You're drooling.

"Weighing in at 2.32 kg, barrel length 267mm, a double action using .500 S&W magnum rounds. An excellent pistol. Still, i would expect someone like Himura-san to get something like the Pfeifer Zeliska .600 Nitro Express revolver. Always thought she liked the big guns."

I think i heard of that gun before... oh wait, Yuuko did tell me about it.

"Yuuko said that she wanted the biggest pistol that can fit in her pocket, or something."

Okuta nodded in understanding once i said that.

"Yes, i can see now. The .600 Nitro Express Zeliska revolver is not a gun you can hold in one hand. To be honest, it is a joke to call that a pistol."

"Yuuko called it a cannon in the shape of a pistol."

"She's right. I actually have one. Over here."

Okuta leaned over to the side of the tent, sticking his hand deep into a pile of weapons. Isn't that called dangerous? After rummaging for a few dangerous and tense minutes, or at least to me, Okuta pulled out an extremely large and long black pistol. Wait, that isn't a pistol. That's a rifle!

"This is the .600 Nitro express Zeliska revolver. Weighing 6 kg, being 55 cm long, has a muzzle energy of over 6 kilojoules, firing .458 win mag rounds, muzzle velocity of 462 m/s. In the real life, this is the World's most expensive pistol. Even each round is about 4000 yen."

"... Four-... four thousand?"

Okuta nodded at my dumbfounded look.

"Yes, 4000 yen. Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?"

Too much of a perspective. Just who was crazy enough to even think of building this monster?

"Anyway, i can give you the details of the pistol Himura-san asked for. Here, i'll write them down on the sketch."

Okuta fumbled around for a pen, before finding one buried under a whole bunch of bullets. Word of advise, clean up before something in this tent explodes and send you into the next life. If you do, hopefully you would stand out more than you do now.

"Here, all done."

That's fast! He handed me the piece of paper back. Looking at the paper, i noticed that he really did write quite a bit on it. Just how much of a gun maniac is he?

"... I don't understand why you're not part of Guild."

I look to him while pocketing the piece of paper.

"Hm? Guild? No, not really my type of place. I prefer to shoot guns, not make them."

Okuta replied, grabbing an empty clip and starting to load bullets into it.

"... But you seem to know a lot about guns. I'm sure you could be of great help to Yuuko."

"Funny enough, Himura said the same thing. Everyone has their own calling, Kurogane, that includes me."

And funny enough, i think Takako said the very same thing to me not too long ago. Am i getting lectured by others all the time?

"The fascination of firing a weapon is ingrained in all men. The feeling of power to take a life. Power that is the corruption of society."

"... And you're the same?"

"... Probably."

Okuta put down the clip, closing his eyes as his expression turned to that of sadness and despair.

"Power of others was what drove me to madness. And in the end i ended up just like them. Hungry for more power in order to exact revenge. Power doesn't change anything, but it does move people. It shapes our World and anything human. We despise it, yet we need it. But even though i had gained power through these weapons, in the end i was still powerless to stop the disaster."

"Disaster?"

"... No, it's nothing. Forget everything i said."

Okuta waved it off, grabbing the clip once more to load it. Okuta was bearing a burden that was heavier than what others were carrying. His burden was something that seemed to be wearing him down. Such signs were not good for the sake of the assault division.

"There are some things that cannot be forgotten. It would be better to face the past than simply trying to push it away."

"What's done is done, and cannot be changed, no matter how much we regret it. It would never return. Alea jacta est."

"... The die has been cast. I see. Well, thanks for your help."

* * *

Stepping out the tent, i took some time to rest my head. Okuta sure said some really serious things. The weight of those words were heavy, really heavy to Okuta in particular.

"... Everyone has their secrets... huh."

I guess that it applies to me. But what secrets do i have if i cannot recall anything? The die has been cast. That was a rather interesting thing to say, and it would fit the description of everyone here. Their lives were over, now spending the rest of eternity fighting an infinite number of enemies. Penance for sins? Or simply trying to justify their deaths? Yuki said that most of them were afraid of losing their memories, losing their lives as who they were. But there was something more to that than simply losing one's self. Whatever the reason, they were all set on fighting the Shadows, even if it meant spending all eternity doing it.

But there has to be an end to all this. No one can fight forever. There cannot be a beginning without an end. I looked up to the setting sun in the sky. The Assault members were beginning to bring out cans of food to cook by their camp fires. Seeing their tired and weary faces made me wonder, why are we doing this? We were merely young kids, students who died and were unable to live fulfilling lives. So what was the purpose of coming here? To find the things we were missing in our lives? To find peace? What peace can there be when all we do is fight just to survive? The mysteries of this World just increased by itself.

"... I'm getting hungry. I need ramen."


	26. Chapter 26

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 26_

_Reflection of a Mirror_

Sitting down for dinner, i slowly ate my food, thinking about the things that had happened to me since i got here. To be honest, everything happened so quickly that i did not really get a chance to think things through. After arriving here, i was immediately pulled into battle alongside the SSS2 and Yuki. Fighting against the Shadows, dark mist-like enemies that would devour us and turn us into mindless NPCs. I looked around the cafeteria and spotted a few NPCs who used to be human. They were as mindless as ever. SSS2 members steered clear of those NPCs, mainly because they were afraid. Afraid of what had happened to their former comrades, afraid that the same could happen to them.

Can't say i blame them. I nearly became one myself and the feeling was not that great. It was like a cold coffin, entrapping your very essence and binding it. Everything would seem so mechanical and you would be forced to do it. The worse part is that although you know deep in your heart it is wrong, that you must resist, your mind isn't complying. You still do it without even blinking. Because i managed to escape the conversion process without any help, i more or less became quite famous in the SSS2. There were others who did the same, but i was the only one who wasn't officially assigned to any group. Unofficially? I'm under Yuki's Fort. Since Yuki is the one who looks after the new recruits, she's usually the one with first pick.

Yuki was more or less the ruler behind the scenes. The Empress of the five leaders. Some would call her the dark lord of Fort. Can't say i don't know why they call her that. She certainly does have a rather evil and dark nature about her and her orders. Five leaders, five main divisions. Each division has sub-divisions which work separately and in all they are what drives the SSS2. I remembered reading quite a bit from the diary logs of the previous leader, Nakamura Yuri, and realized that the current SSS2 was nearly a hundred times larger than the original SSS. The number of members in the original SSS only went about fifty to a hundred. The SSS2 numbers in the thousand.

The level of organization was also different, with the SSS2 having five different leaders to spread the distribution of power and also to better control the large amount of members. The SSS had divisions too, but this Nakamura Yuri was the sole leader of all and she clearly led her members through countless hardships and towards victory multiple times. If i had to summarize such a person, it would be that she was an extremely capable leader, brave and unrelenting, her ability to lead and take charge is something that the five leaders of this SSS2 should be learning from. Yuki, the empress of Fort, takes charge and rules with an iron fist and a forked tongue. No one can talk back to her, not even Ein. Ein, or colonel mc bear as i like to call him, was a rather eccentric person. The drill master of the Assault division.

When he's relaxed, he really lets everything out with a bang. When he's all worked up with a task, his ass is more wound up tight than a Shadow facing the end of Yuuko's drill machine. Yuuko, the mad maniac of Guild, the underground explosion, or as Yuki calls her 'Kagutsuchi'. The words 'eccentric' and 'crazy' hardly describe her any more. That girl has more loose screws than her failed experiments, and she isn't afraid to just blow up anything or anyone. The other two leaders, Testuya of the diversion division, and the leader of the intelligence division. Tetsuya had been reported missing over a week ago and still no word about his whereabouts. Although Yuki isn't saying anything, i can tell that this matter is still rather distressing for her to deal with. The diversion division was more less inactive with Tetsuya missing in action.

There had been several attempts to bring the division back together, but so far the diversion division had been fractured and split apart. Now different groups of diversion members act independently on their own accord. Nothing they are doing is helping the other divisions from being hunted down and chased by the disciplinary committee or the student council. In other words, the diversion isn't working. The last division is the intelligence division. Up till now i had not been able to meet the leader of the division, and even when asking around no one seems to be sure on who he is. Apparently no one even knows his name. A mysterious person, that is all i'm told.

Yuki seems to hold something against him, though, as each time i ask her about it the pen in her hand would snap into five pieces. A vein would also be rather visible on her features. Apparently Yuki and that particular leader of the intelligence division do not agree on many things, though at times it feels like Yuki and that leader do not agree on everything. That guy is either very stupid, or extremely brave to go up and butt heads with Yuki. Although Ein and Yuuko may disagree with Yuki at times, they have more or less shifted their positions to side with the Empress of Fort. Yuki controlled the home base, the main headquarters of the SSS2 which was more than a functional frontal defence against the Shadows, it was a symbol of their presence in this World. The one thing everyone could turn to whenever things got rough. This was the first line of defence, and it will always remain that way.

"Again with the ramen?"

A familiar voice broke my thoughts. Looking up, i saw Yuki seating herself down opposite me with a plate of curry. She really does eat a lot of that type of food.

"Don't you eat anything else?"

"I don't want to hear that from you."

Yuki narrowed her eyes at my bowl of noodles. Hey, my noodles did nothing wrong. Stop staring at them like they are the most vile things on this World. They aren't.

"How are things back at Fort?"

I ask, slurping up another spoon full of goodness.

"Well, thanks to your efforts, the supplies are up and running again. We wouldn't have to fight with tooth and nail any more."

"... Sounds harsh."

"It is."

The two of us ate in silence after that. Harsh life. It had been such ever since i came here. Nothing good came out of this and yet we do it. This was something that truly bothered me. Why are we doing this? For survival? But we're dead. We no longer exist. I'm not even sure what this place is. What was it meant for? And what was i doing here? Regrets? Probably, but until i gain back all of my memories, i'm not going anywhere.

"... Ne, Yuki."

"Hm?"

"When a person dies, does everything end?"

Yuki paused, looking at me for the moment, before going back to eating her curry.

"Everything would end for that person. No feelings, no sight, no hearing, no joy, sadness, no anger, no pain. Nothing. To lose everything that you had relied on for your entire life, suddenly robbed of all that makes you 'you'. You may leave behind marks that would prove you lived, but that doesn't matter to you when you're dead. Everything would disappear, and you would have no control over it. The worse part is that you would be unable to stop it and your mind, though still desperately trying to survive, would just give up. There is no reset button to hit. No retries or re-dos. Life is a one way ticket. Everything at the end... simply ends."

"... Everything ends... i guess that's true. Then i guess what we're doing doesn't really mean much. There was no point in our lives here. The reason for which we died for no longer exists or matter."

Then what was the reason we died for? Have we lost our lives simply to end up here to wage an endless war? I just simply did not like how this turned out. Yuki sighed, putting her spoon down.

"You've changed, Kou."

"Have i?"

"Yes... you're... darker. Like some dark weight has been added onto your shoulders. You're becoming... more like the rest of us."

I look to Yuki, snorting at what she just said.

"Wouldn't that be for the better?"

"... We call came here with large regrets, Kou, it is all part of life to have regrets. But our past and burdens are something that a normal human being cannot normally withstand. That is why we are here. That is what Nakamura Yuri concluded long before we came here."

Nakamura Yuri. The mysterious leader of the previous SSS. She certainly is wise and smart. Maybe i would enjoy meeting her.

"And so, Kou, i know that this may sound contradicting, but it may be better for you not to remember. You're growing more distant and cold. This isn't like you."

"... Maybe this is how i am in the past. Who knows?"

Yuki looked at me with a worried expression. I guess i could understand her position, slightly. At times i too wonder if it would be better if i did not remember anything. I was beginning to feel as though i was losing myself. Some sort of deep sadness, solitude and despair was building up inside of me. A large void, an abyss of nothingness, swirling up as bits of my past life came back to me. It was cold, unforgiving and filled with pain.

"... I'm alright, Yuki... for now."

I reassured her with a smile. Yuki did not seem to be convinced, but she went back to eating her food. The two of us fell back into a scene of silence. It was rather unnerving, to be honest.

"I heard you're running errands for Yuuko."

Yuki finally changed the subject and the mood, mixing her curry with her rice. Again. Is that how she eats that normally? By mixing it all up into one large glop? Is glop even a word?

"Ah, she asked me to find details on a pistol."

"A pistol? Sheesh, that girl can sure know how to force others to do her work for her."

I don't want to hear that from you.

"So? Have you found out about her pistol?"

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the sketch.

"I've gotten it all down. Just need to hand it back to Yuuko later."

Yuki studied the sketch and the details written beside it for quite some time before handing it back to me.

"She's gone off and done something stupid again. Sometimes i have to wonder if she really is suited to be the leader of Guild."

"Isn't she the only one suited to be the leader, though?"

"She has the knowledge and memories. As for leadership though, she is sorely lacking."

Yuki muttered, scooping up a spoon full of curry rice and shoving it into her mouth in a rather violent manner. Someone's clearly irritated. But by what? Yuuko? I'm guessing Yuuko did something to piss off Yuki again. No point in asking Yuki about it since i would not get a straight answer. Better ask Yuuko later.

"Insh dah fasu prace, shi neha eha lishans tush me-"

"Talk or eat, choose one!"

Yuki swallowed her food, drinking her water before continuing.

"As i was saying, she never listens to what i say in the first place."

"... Is she suppose to?"

"If she wants to have better control over her subordinates, yes. Otherwise she would have more rouge members who would steal more supplies from her."

Ah, so Yuki is still rather mad about that incident. I would not think that it was Yuuko's fault entirely, but i had to agree that Yuuko wasn't strict in any form or sense of the word. I'm surprised that Guild had managed to stay as structured as it is for so long with Yuuko being in-charge.

"Ah, just thinking about it makes me lose my appetite."

So says the person who is still shovelling food down her own throat.

"Listen, Kou, once you're done with Yuuko's request, i need you to head over to the diversion division. The student council has been bugging our members more and more and it is clearly undermining our activities. Ein had to move his entire division up into the mountains because of it."

"Am i to act as a leader?"

"No, you idiot. Just help them out."

Ah, i guess i'm just an idiot out for loan then. Is that all i'm worth?

"The diversion division is now like a chicken with its head cut off. Without proper direction all they're doing is nothing more than just playing around."

"So who am i suppose to find?"

Yuki paused, blinking a couple of times. Wait, you did not think about it yet? If we're talking about leadership, i think you need to check whether yours is at the same level as Yuuko's or not.

"... Fine, give me sometime to get together a proper team. But until then, you still need to do more jobs. You're doing well so far helping the various divisions, so keep doing it. Report to Ein or Yuuko and see what they have for you."

Isn't that what i've been doing so far? By avoiding you and your endless paper work, i wound up playing gopher for the different divisions.

"Nao ishint tis haim-"

"EAT OR TALK, CHOOSE ONE!"


	27. Chapter 27

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 27_

_Thorns of a Rose_

With the following day, i head over to Guild to hand Yuuko back the sketch. It was surprisingly easy to find information for weapons within the SSS2. I guess it's because we're all still young with imagination running wild. Quite a number of people here were very knowledgeable about weapons, maybe also due to the fact that we're young and we are constantly fascinated with such things that would probably have no impact on our lives. It's true that when you die, everything becomes revealed about yourself. Ah, maybe not for me. As always, Guild was one hot, sweaty and busy place. While it wasn't as bad as the assault division's camp, it was still a rather horrid place to be in.

My skin could just wrinkle up like a dried prune just being in this environment. I may not care for outward appearances like other girls, but i do know that looking wrinkled up like an old lady isn't going to help with fighting. Speaking of old ladies, i don't see anyone outside our age group here. I guess all older people go to a different 'afterlife' than us teenagers. Maybe the working adults go a city like place? That's kind of unfair. How about old people? Somehow an image of an old temple pops in my head. An old temple? What the heck are those old people going to be doing in an old temple anyway? Pray all day? If it really were the case, i'm glad i died as a teenager.

"... But... I'll never know whether that is true now... huh."

I mutter to no one in particular but the silent ghosts of my past that constantly hover around me. The images of my past, ones i had already seen before, were flashing through my mind like a broken film. I could not get proper sleep and my room mate had to wake me twice last night because i was screaming frantically. She said she was worried i was attacked by a Shadow or something. I might as well be though. The horrible images, scenes of darkness, solitude and despair. The bloodied hands wrapping itself around my neck and forcing the life out of me. Was that my past? Murdered? But by who? Why?

"Kurogane?"

I look up and noticed someone i did not expect to be in Guild.

"Amatsu-san? What are you doing here?"

Len was the same as before, still wearing those headphones that were constantly blaring out loud music. So it's death metal this time? Your genres can vary a lot.

"Me? Shrewerz decided that i needed to take some time off from active duty after..."

Len trailed off, not completing her sentence as her gaze went off in another direction. Something probably happened and she did not really want to talk about it. However it did catch my interest.

"Did it have anything to do with the music?"

"No, though he does complain about it from time to time. It's more like because i dropped my ammunition clip during the training exercises, so he-... WHAT ARE YOU MAKING ME TALK ABOUT? Gah! Forget it!"

Is this what they call a 'tsundere'? No, she isn't having a 'tsun' or a 'dere' moment. But her face was turning quite red. Len turned to the table that was littered with rifles and ammunition clips. Since it was colonel mc bear we're talking about, i was wondering what kind of weird harsh punishment he was going to make her do. It turns out that Len was sorting ammunition and loading clips. If that was the punishment, it was a rather weird and light one, especially if you compare it with the alternative, running constantly still you drop dead, or into a hole in Ein's case.

"So? What are you doing here? Came to laugh at me?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You're laughing."

Len pointed to my face, my lips in particular. Was i really laughing? Crap, was it too obvious?

"W-well, i'm looking for Yuuko."

"Himura? She's over there."

Len pointed over to the side of the small factory, where a sealed iron door was with the giant sign 'keep out' painted on it.

"But i wouldn't go in there now if i were you."

Len added, just as a giant explosion erupted from behind those sealed doors. Smoke was seen pouring out from the gaps of the door.

"She still hasn't given up on those tanks, i see."

Yuuko did tell me about her tanks. Honestly, i don't think they would ever work. Well, guess i'll have to wait until the smoke clears and Yuuko revives herself. That could take some time, however, since i'm sure the moment she revives herself, she's going to blow up something almost immediately. I would have to wait till she grows sick of it, which should take about an hour or so. Yuuko wasn't the type to stay focused one thing too long, after all. The amount of sugar in her blood must be way off the scale, and yes, i did see how many spoons of sugar she puts into her drinks. Ten spoons for coffee, seven for tea, and three for any soda. Who puts sugar in their soda anyway?

"If you're just going to stand around, might as well help me."

Len tossed me an empty magazine. Wasn't this meant to be her punishment? Whatever. I've got nothing else to do anyway. Seeing as there aren't any chairs around, i ended up leaned against the table as i loaded the magazine one bullet at a time. No conversation between Len and i as we slowly slaved away at the job. However this was Guild, so there wouldn't be silence at all. People shouting at each other over the sounds of metal clashing against anvils. The furnaces of the factory roared fiercely as they were being fed more fuel. The builders running about with supplies and equipments, the fitters fixing tools and were either measuring up new members or having chats with their chosen members while giving them more weapons.

Gen was nowhere to be seen, probably dragged off by Yuuko to help with the tank constructions. Just hope he doesn't die too often. The last time i remembered he died after an explosion occurred when a grenade went off in his face, he revived with not too many bits of personality and ability intact. He gave me the wrong ammunition for my weapons, and also greased the weapons with butter. Really, who knew that having an explosion in his face would rattle his brain that much.

"... So how are things going for you?"

Len suddenly asked out of the blue that it took some time for my brain to even register that she was actually talking to me.

"Huh? Oh... well, nothing much. I'm pretty much worked to the bone by Yuki."

If it weren't for these odd jobs that others gave me, i would have been given a collar that said 'property of Yuki'. Somehow that idea really frightened me. Those guys over at Fort all seem to be like that. Answering to every beck and call of Yuki's. That isn't funny at all. Just goes to show how much power Yuki actually wields. The only person i know who dares to butt heads with that queen of S and no M is the leader of the intelligence division, whose name and face i still haven't seen or heard. Makes me think his entire existence itself is questionable. Is he real? Or just an urban myth made up to make people think that Yuki actually had an opponent to stand up to.

"Yuki? Oh, Taeno-san. I see that she's still harsh as always."

Len had a rather nostalgic smile. I guess so, since every recruit goes through Yuki first. Even Len must have gone through Yuki's training regime. I did, though i just as easily skipped it with all that went on. The daring night assault was the one saving grace of mine from her horrible training.

"... Amatsu-san, do you have any close friends?"

The moment i ask that, Len dropped the rifle in her hands. Her face went all red again. What an interesting reaction.

"Wha-wha-what ma-makes you as-ask tha-that?"

Len, you're stammering too much. Anyway, was what i asked such a weird question? Wait, scratch that, it is weird. If anyone came up to me suddenly and asked me the same question, i'll probably just stare at them like they're idiots. If Yuki asked me that, i'll would probably think i was dreaming. If Yuuko asked me that, i-... If Yuuko asked, i probably wouldn't even think it was odd for her to ask such a question.

"Just asking. I noticed that you always refer to others by their surname. Even Yuuko."

Which is strange, because no one. I repeat, NO ONE, refers to Yuuko by her surname. Yuuko always goes off to tell people that they should call her as 'Yuuko', or if they're part of Guild, 'Boss'. Why Boss? I have no clue.

"... I don't plan on becoming friendly with anyone else here."

Len muttered, grabbing the dropped rifle and slammed a clip into it rather violently.

"Don't plan to be friendly?"

"... I don't trust anyone, not even you."

Well, that was quite honest of her.

"I see. Do you really mean that?"

"What's that suppose to mean?"

Len glared at me, slamming the gun in her hand onto the table. I shift my eyes from her back to the clip i was loading.

"If you really didn't trust anyone, then why are you here? Why would you want to be a part of the SSS2?"

"... Mainly for convenience."

"You're lying."

That set Len off as she slammed her fists down on the table so hard that the sound itself caused the entire factory to stop its work to look over at us.

"What do you know about me? You came here later than i did, and yet you're telling me off like you're my mother!"

Len shouted at me.

"... I don't know anything about you, nor do i presume to. But it's obvious that you're lying when you said it was merely for convenience. No one stays with this group and acts the way you do simply out for convenience. I've seen the way you interact with others, and i know that there's something else. Isn't there, Len?"

I look to her, and noticed that her face was burning red while she averted her eyes from mine. Was she getting embarrassed that i called her by her first name? Perhaps it was too much? I guess i did overstep my boundaries.

"... Sorry, i said too much."

"No... you're right."

Len sighed, sitting back down on the chair, her eyes still not looking my way.

"I never did trust anyone. That's the truth. Whether in this World, or the previous one."

"The previous one? You mean when you were alive?"

Len nodded.

"You see, no one would see me as who i am. People either used me, or were afraid of me. My life was filled with lies, secrets and false hopes."

Len's expression was a mix of sadness and pain, even through her forced smile. You know, i'm getting used to seeing everyone with sad and pained expressions like they're some war veteran reliving their nightmares, or someone who just lost all of their property in the stock market crash. Someone who lost all hope and reason for living. That was the face that everyone makes when they remember their past. Lost all hope and reason for living? We're all dead, aren't we?

"You know... i'm the daughter of a Yakuza boss."

"..."

Did i hear that right? A what? A yaki-niku boss? What's that? Jakuza? Is that some sort of new jakuzzi attraction that i did not know about? Yan-gu-za? Young goods za? Is that some sort of fashion trend? Yaki-gyou-za boss? Gyouza? And since when did the name go back to food?

"... Can you repeat that?"

"... I'm the daughter of a Yakuza boss."

"... Kinniku (muscles) boss?"

"Yakuza."

"... Yan-Kuru-za (young cruiser?) ?"

"There is only so much your boke can go, Kurogane."

"Oh, so you're a daughter of a yaki-niku boss."

"Kurogane, i'm going to get angry soon."

"... Sorry."

And really, why did it go back to yaki-niku?

"So? You're the ojou-sama of a Yakuza group. I guess that's why people would try to distant themselves from you. I can only imagine such a life as that, however."

I placed the filled clip back on the table and picked up another one to fill.

"You're not afraid?"

Len asked, looking at me in surprise.

"Am i suppose to be? As far as i can recall, i didn't do anything to be hunted down by the Yakuza. Anyway, what does being the boss's daughter have to do with you now? Maybe you can scare others with your rough yankee-like tone."

"... I was a yankee too, at one point in my life."

"Hm, that wasn't hard to figure out."

Upon hearing that, Len laughed. Sort of. She was trying hard not to laugh but apparently i hit a funny bone. How funny? Not too sure but she sure looks like she's about to suffocate herself. After awhile, Len managed to cool herself off.

"You're the first person to ever talk to me like that. Like it doesn't matter what my background is."

Len admitted, wiping the tears that accumulated in her eyes while she was holding that back laugh. Didn't work, mind you.

"Am i suppose to care? And what about Yuki?"

I place the second clip down and picked up a third.

"Taeno-san was... she didn't seem the care about my background, and she also did not seem to care about anything else."

"... That, i can agree with. She sits up in her high throne so long that everything around her seems insignificant. Empresses don't care about Yakuza. That's new."

Len laughed, again. This time she couldn't hold back as she just laughed out so loudly that the factory stopped work once more. This is getting into a habit.

"Anyway, like i said, it doesn't matter about your past. It's all gone. Unlike you guys, i don't really have a past to be ashamed of, or to actually think about."

"Ah... i heard... Sorry."

Len apologized, this is new. Somewhat refreshing and yet very alarming at the same time. Len apologized. This isn't her character! Tsundere's aren't suppose to apologize so easily!

"Ne, you're thinking of something rude about me, aren't you?"

"... No."

"You were. Well, that aside-"

And she just ignores it?

"I had always wanted to know... what was it like to forget everything?"

I put down the half loaded clip and got up from the table. So it has come down to this. I had been asked that a number of times before. I might as well prepare a speech for it.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't."

Len muttered, going back to her weapon sorting. Tsundere.

"... It's not that i don't want to talk about. It's more like i don't know how."

"Huh?"

"Forgetting everything... at times, when i look at all of you guys, people with painful past and painful memories, i think to myself that maybe forgetting everything is a blessing. By forgetting everything, i can gain a fresh start. After all, since i'm here then that means that i too must have suffered some sort of terrible past. If my past is that painful, then all the more i want to forget it."

"I... see."

Yes, all the more i want to forget it. A fresh start. But...

"But, that isn't how things are meant to be. By forgetting everything, you lose who you are. You would be lost and confused. Not knowing where to start and you would constantly stumble in the dark without a light to show you the way. The lost of memories of my painful past is nothing more than a symbol of my cowardice. It is simply running away from something i had given up is not right. It frightens me to not know anything. Like a child lost in a sea of people. All i can do is walk the same direction as everyone else. Perhaps it is this that Yuki was talking about... how everyone is afraid to pass on because they are afraid to lose their old selves. The life that they had managed to make something out of. In their hearts, everyone is actually satisfied with their lives. They are satisfied... but cannot accept it. Aren't you the same, Len?"

"... Maybe."

Len finally said, her face turning red again.

"... You're the first person i would tell this to, Kurogane. And i want you to be the one to listen to it."

"Sure..."

I was a little apprehensive, since Len sounded like a young girl who was going to give her confession of love. Love? Wait! Len, i changed my mind! I don't want to listen!

"... What are you getting so flustered for? You're making me nervous."

Len narrowed her eyes at me. Well, that should be my line!

"Anyway, it's about my past-... what are you doing?"

Before i know it, i collapsed onto the ground. Mainly out of pure surprise.

"Ah... sorry, go on."

"... Well, i was raised by my mother for fifteen years without knowing who my father was. My mother was a... show girl."

"... You mean..."

I made a gesture with my finger, which could only mean one thing.

"Yeah... she was 'that' sort. I'm not proud of it, but my mother did her best to raise me by herself, to become a respectable person. Even though my mother's job was such, she was the one person i respected the most. No matter what sort of hardship came her way, no matter how tough things were, she had always kept a roof over our heads, food on our table, and most importantly she never failed to smile for me. However i was young, foolish and stubborn. Envying the lifestyle of others, i became to hate my life and became a yankee. But... everything that was holding me up was suddenly broken apart. Without realizing it, the one thing that i hated was the very thing that had been supporting me from the beginning. My mother... suddenly collapsed. The doctor said it was stress, but i knew it was something worse. Stress from her extra work had caused her to overwork her body, and with my yankee actions, it only made things worse. I decided to quit being a yankee and find a part time job to help with the hospital bills. And soon... i met 'him'."

She did not need to say who. I could probably guess. But her tone was filled with hatred, spite and anger.

"My... that man. He appeared by my mother's bed side without notice. My mother had told me that this man was my father and that she had contacted him because... because she knew her life was short. Without even asking my opinion, she entrusted me to... him. I know that it was probably for the best, that if it were him, i would be taken care of and that was all that mattered to her. And so i was introduced to the man who was... my father. The boss of a Yakuza clan. A lot of things changed for me almost immediately. I was suddenly treated like royalty, i had everything given to me. But i lost my own life. My mother died, and i moved in with my... father. Because of him, i became even more ostracised than i was before. Former Yankee was the daughter of a Yakuza. No matter how much i tried to clean up my act, get good grades, in the eyes of society, that's all i ever was. A Yankee daughter of a Yakuza."

"... Justice lasts a second while evil taints forever..."

"More like a lifetime of good deeds can never smolder the flames of sin. I tried to apply to University, tried to become a doctor. With my grades at that time, it was possible. But because of my background was i rejected. I hated my life, despised that man. But what could i do? I was merely a child with no power to stand on my own."

"... Did... did he treat you badly?"

Len smiled slightly, shaking her head in reply.

"No. He didn't treat me badly. Quite the opposite, really. He tried to please me every second. Worried over my health and fussed over my type of clothing. If he weren't a Yakuza boss, he would make a pretty good father. But why? Why was he being so kind? Merely because of my mother? I was merely an accident. A product of a one night fling. He had no obligation to be my father, he could have just left me alone. But he didn't."

This girl just did not understand why. The answer was simple, yet complex to understand.

"... Isn't that what being a parent is?"

"... I still don't know. But he's a Yakuza. He's suppose to be cold-blooded, heartless and pure evil!"

"And where did you get that idea?"

Not that i can blame you though, the first thing that comes to mind when you say Yakuza is probably... big muscled guys with tattoos all over. Then comes the image of cutting of your small finger. I have to check where i get my sources as well.

"Hm? Isn't that how everyone sees them? It's even in manga."

"... You shouldn't trust everything manga says."

Just how naive can this girl get?

"Anyway, when he heard that the Universities rejected me, he tried to cheer me up by bringing me out to shop. I don't really like shopping though. However, it just so happened that a rival clan was trying to get even for a previous incident. I remember a black car driving up to us along the street, window rolled down and then... i went down."

A drive-by? That's extremely rare for Yakuza. In fact, they never do drive-bys. Wasn't 'honourable'. And how do i know this? Not sure. A western influence was involved, that's for certain.

"Why it happened did not matter to me. If i can recall properly, i was hit four, five times in the chest. He... my father... he was only lightly injured. But i can still remember him holding me in his arms and crying. I can't remember what he was saying at that time, but i'm sure it was something stupid."

"... It probably wasn't stupid, Len."

I walk over to Len and grabbed her hand, much to her surprise, and embarrassment.

"A parent... is someone who lives for their child. No matter what the circumstance or the cause. A parent who is unable to fulfil that duty is less than human, less than an animal, less than a living being. A child's duty... is to ensure that none of the parent's hard work is ever put to waste. Never bring shame, never forget, and be proud. This hand... it has gone through hardship, pain and suffering. Yet this is also the same hand that your mother held, wasn't it? Through this hand, she entrusted you to live a meaningful and full life with your father. She probably didn't tell you about your father because she feared what you would think. But at her deathbed, she knew you would be ready to face the truth. She raised you hard, all by herself, to be strong and to never back down. She believed in you and your father. No matter what may happen, you and your father are still family by blood that flows through this hand. Blood of your father, a proud and honour-bound man. Blood of your mother, strong-willed and loving woman. Blood of yourself, a slightly stubborn but trustworthy individual. Do not forget that."

Len was slightly speechless after that. She simply looked at me, her mouth slightly agape with her eyes mesmerized. Perhaps i said too much. I don't know why i said that, when i don't have to right to say any of it. I can't remember anything of my past. What if i made the same mistakes? Can i actually follow what i told Len?

"Bravo! That was a beautiful speech!"

I looked up and saw that Yuuko, and probably half of Guild, was standing all around the table, listening in. Completely embarrassed by this, Len pulled her hand free of mine and buried her face in the weapons pile. Shy much?

"How long have you been standing there, Yuuko?"

I ask, crossing my arms in slight irritation.

"Hm... Since 'isn't that what being a parent is', i guess?"

"... And you didn't bother to make yourself be noticed?"

"Why spoil such a lovely mood? Oh, don't stop there. I'm sure you two love-birds have a~lot to talk about."

"...? Love birds? We're both women, Yuuko."

"Ara, Amatsu-chii doesn't seem to agree with that statement."

Yuuko pointed over to Len, who had put her headphones back on, face blushing extremely red and having her eyes fixated on the hand i just held. That's slightly creepy, Len.

"Well, since you're out here, means you're done with your exploding tanks?"

"Ga ha ha ha! Rejoice, Kuro-chii! For i have finally perfected it!"

Yuuko roared in laughter, her chest puffed out with pride. The members around her were all beaming, smiling, laughing. Some were even crying. Right now, Yuuko was shining, literally.

"You perfected the tanks?"

"Hm? Oh no, i simply perfected the perfect explosion."

"... Eh?"

A-re? Wasn't it about the tanks? Oi! Give me back my slight moment of admiration! I was wrong to even THINK you could even produce good results!


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Well, glad to see that this story is still getting readers. I forgot to put in a small explanation for why Yuuko was called 'Kagutsuchi' by Yuki. Besides the Mai-HiMe reference (in that Yuuko is essentially important to Yuki like how Kagutsuchi is important to Mai), Kagutsuchi is also known as the fire god, or fire causer in Japanese mythology. Legend has it that when Izanami bore Kagutsuchi, his entire body was covered with flames, resulting in him burning his own mother. As a result, Izanami died, whereas Izanagi, stricken with grief, cut the fire god into eight pieces with his sword. What does this mean? It means Yuki also sees Yuuko as a possible internal threat to the organization. Yuuko's explosive nature is just like Kagutsuchi, though not done on purpose, is still rather destructive.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 28_

_Foreman_

The last time i came down to Guild, i went through Takako and got a bike. I wonder what would Yuuko shove my way this time. Not that the bike was a bad thing, but it was more like a bribe from Yuuko to make sure i come down to see her more often. Even Yuki said so. The worst part? I can't give it back. It's like i'm going to be forever in debt to Yuuko. For a bike i didn't want. Damn this Japanese custom and personality. Handing Yuuko the sketch did make her happy, but i'm guessing it isn't enough to cover the bike.

"Hmm, i knew asking Kuro-chii was the right choice."

Yuuko smirked, walking off while admiring the sketch.

"More like there wasn't anyone else, was there?"

"Aha, you noticed?"

It was obvious from the get-go you dumb mad mechanic. Following Yuuko, we ended up at the tracks of the railcar that travels throughout the main tunnels of Guild.

"Kuro-chii, mind joining me for a ride?"

Yuuko asked, already jumping onto the first rail car. The rail cars were like platforms on wheels. They each had chairs built into the platforms and had rather short railings to prevent most things from falling off. Most of the rail cars were piled high with supplies and equipment, probably to head to the larger factory.

"I'm going to inspect the larger factory, since it's nearing completion. Why not tag along?"

"... Like i have a choice?"

"Da ha! Nope."

"Thought so."

Yuuko offered her hand and i took it. She helped pull me up onto the rail car and we took our seats, strapping on the belts.

"Wait! I'm coming too."

Len suddenly jumped onboard too, settling into the seat opposite mine.

"Ara, you sure about that, Amatsu-chii?"

"Shrewerz wouldn't know. Besides, i need a break."

Len replied, strapping on her belt.

"I'm talking about that. I'm talking about where you're sitting."

Yuuko pointed to me. Eh? What about me?

"I-i'm fine!"

Len pouted, looking the other way. Yuuko's eyes turned slightly evil for a moment as her lips curled into a smirk.

"Ara, tsundere."

"W-who is?"

"Maa maa, sit still. I'm about to start."

Yuuko grabbed a lever that was in-between our seats with one hand and looked over to the side where another Guild member was giving her the thumbs-up. A green light attached the ceiling lit up and Yuuko pulled the lever. The rail car jerked at first, starting up slow as it pulled the other five railcars filled with goods along. But soon the rail car sped up, moving at a surprisingly fast pace as people and tunnel walls all zoomed past. Just how fast does this thing go? Apparently very fast.

"S-STOP THIS THING!"

Len shouted at the top of her voice as the rail car took some very serious sharp turns that made the entire rail car tilt so badly that it ran on only two of its wheels.

"GA HA HA HA HA HA! HAVING FUN AMATSU-CHII?"

Yuuko laughed hysterically like the mad maniac she is.

"HOW ABOUT YOU, KURO-CHII?"

"Don't talk to me."

I feel like i'm going to throw-up. I'm doing my best just to make sure i don't black out, and now i feel like my ramen lunch is going to find its way back out of my mouth.

"YOU'RE BOTH SO WEAK! GA HA HA HA HA-UGH... BLRAGH!"

Yuuko ended up throwing up over the side of the rail car. Great. Just what we needed. And who are you calling weak when you yourself just lost your lunch over the side? In the first place-

"... Blragh..."

I threw up too. Ah, my ramen. After a few more hair-raising turns, and after Len threw up over the side as well, the rail car finally slowly churned to a stop at what appeared to be a large train station. All along the sides were large quantities of crates and equipment. The station platforms had Guild members constantly moving things about. It looked a lot like some shipping dock's warehouse, constantly busy from day to night. Len tumbled out of the rail car, falling to the ground with a thud with only the whites of her eyes visible. Looks dead to me.

"Ga ha ha... ha... ha..."

Yuuko laughed weakly, crawling out of the rail car in a rather pitiful manner herself. Can't say i did any better. The word fell from grace was quite appropriate, though what was graceful about before, i'm not sure.

"Phew, that was quite a ride, right?"

Yuuko managed to get to her feet with a rather weak smile. Your legs are still shaking, Yuuko. That was when a dark figure suddenly rose up behind Yuuko. Before Yuuko could even drop her smile, a very angry half-dead Len pushed Yuuko down and grabbed Yuuko's legs into a back mount reverse leg lock.

"GAAAHH!"

"Hi. Mu. Ra-saaan... Do you know the meaning of 'MODERATION'?"

Len's dark aura was growing as she pulled Yuuko's legs even more.

"Gi-GIVE! GIVE!"

Yuuko screamed, trying to claw her way out of the hold without avail.

"You still don't under-STAND!"

Len pulled so hard that i swore i heard something crack.

"GAAAH! M-MY SPINE! I can see my own legs! I'm not suppose to bend like this! I don't do Yoga- Oi! A-Amatsu-chii-IYAAAAA!"

Better leave those two alone. Getting to me feet, i took a moment to get myself reorientated. That train ride was something i would not want to do again. I'll walk back, thank you very much.

"Welcome to the Big Site."

A Guild member walked up to me, handing me a bottle of water. The Guild member was a pretty scrawny guy. He looked pretty weak in a fight, if i didn't notice that he was actually lifting a crate that weighed at least thirty kilo off the rail car with one hand. Okay, Guild members are officially freaks. All of them. The guy ordered a few other Guild members to help with the unloading and soon members swarmed over to unloading the rail car. Unscrewing the bottle, i took a long gulp of its contents, letting it wash down the slight sting from the vomit earlier.

"I see that the boss is still reckless as ever."

The same Guild member said, walking up to me while wiping oil from his hands.

"... Does she always do that?"

I ask, taking another swing from the bottle.

"From time to time. I take it this is your first time down this deep?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Well, most people don't come this deep. And you're also speaking louder than others."

He pointed out. Ah, so that's why i was feeling slightly weird.

"Although this may be the Afterlife, because we're so used to how the real World works our body would automatically adjust to things that should not even apply to us. Almost like the phantom limb pain."

He explained, looking over to where Len was now doing a choke hold on Yuuko.

"Since the boss is going to take awhile, want me to show you around?"

He offered. I looked over to Yuuko and agreed that Yuuko's going to take some time to recover. Len doesn't look like she's going to relent any time soon.

"Sure. I'm Kurogane Kou."

I introduced myself.

"Oh? So you're Kurogane. The boss had been talking about you for quite some time. You must really be something for the boss herself to be so interested. I'm Fudou Akira, foreman of Big Site. Yoroshiku."

He smiled, extending a hand. Fudou Akira. I guess that name sorts of fits him. With a dirtied cap over his dirt brown hair, his somewhat bright green eyes still sparkling with energy even with his dirtied face. He stood slightly taller than me and had a really large wrench in a holder strapped to his back. And i mean really big. That wrench had to be at least one and a half metres long. That was really noticeable.

"Ah, this? Well, it's mainly for intimidation, i guess. The boss wanted me to have full control so she got me to carry this thing around just to scare anyone who thought about running away."

Akira explained rather sheepishly.

"Well, no use standing around, let me show you around."

Akira led the way towards a service elevator that wasn't currently used by anyone. This elevator was one of those old looking ones, with the metal grate for a door. It also didn't use buttons, but rather a lever. Stepping into the elevator, Akira closed the grate behind me and pulled the lever. The machinery jerked to a start and we descended slowly deep into the ground.

"I'm sure you know some parts of this place."

Akira said.

"From what others told me, and from the logs of the previous SSS. This place was the larger factory used to create large quantities of weapons and ammunition."

"Correct. They had to blow it up because their enemy had managed infiltrated the factory. It took us a very long while to get started since it was on such a grand scale that we did not even know where to begin. Ah, and here we are now."

The elevator descended into an extremely large cavern. Large did not even do it justice. This place was huge. Filled with heavy machinery, metal pipes, sheds, dirt, and people moving about, this wasn't just any underground factory. This was a city in itself.

"We expanded the original size of this factory to accommodate the larger number of members that we have. The size of this cavern is large enough to fit the entire school above us and more. Since it's such a hassle to move people so deep constantly from the surface, we decided to construct basic housing and utilities. Tapping into the school's water supplies, we have fresh water. We can construct electrical generators here so that leaves us with food. Unfortunately we still need to get food from the surface, so that is why we still need the rail car and the runners."

Akira explained as the elevator ground to a halt at the bottom. He opened the grate and stepped out.

"And so, i bid you welcome once more, to 'Big Site'."

* * *

"Why do you call it Big Site?"

I ask as Akira showed me around the place. The main square was more like a busy market, with people trading with others what they had. To the East and West were the housing facilities, houses where the members stayed at. To the North were the main factory machines and storehouses. This was so large that just being in it felt like i've been transported to another World.

"There's a place in Tokyo called 'Big Site'. A convention centre that could house over ten thousand people. Twice a year it is also the gathering for the largest convention in the country. The comic market."

"... An anime event?"

"Yes. But if we ignore the fact that it is about anime, we would see that it is the gathering of all forms of ideas. A place where people come and share their inspirations and their determination. Sort of like how Guild is, isn't it?"

Akira smiled, leading the way down the North road towards the heavy machinery section.

"So all of you are otaku?"

"... Ah ha ha, that's harsh, Kurogane-san. But i guess maybe that's true, after all, we have to be either insane or dead to be doing what we do."

"But we're all dead already."

"And there you have your answer."

Akira laughed, making me think that he was either a little too easy-going or had a few screws loose in the head. But it wasn't like he was similar to Yuuko. No, there was something different about him. Something... soothing. He did not seem to be the type to think everything was funny, but rather he seemed the type to take things easy and let life go along as it should be. He would simply be a traveller along for the ride.

"Kurogane-san? Is there something on my face?"

He noticed that i was staring at him for some extended period of time.

"... No. It's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

I nod in reply. He was somewhat persistent, and it was somewhat irritating. Then i noticed that this time, he was looking at me rather intently.

"... Is there something on 'my' face?"

I ask the same question he asked me before.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to be rude. It's just... for a member of Fort, a fighter on the frontlines, you do not seem to be 'tainted' by the flames of war."

"... Tainted?"

It was an odd word he used, but yet somewhat befitting.

"Forgive me if i seem a little too out-of-line, but i never really thought well of fighting. After all, fighting is the cause of most broken families and societies."

Akira smiled a little. His words were heavy and i knew that it was related to his past.

"... Maybe that is so. Countless wars had ravaged humanity that i'm surprised we weren't wiped out centuries ago. It would not be an under-statement to say that humans are only good at destruction, that we were born as hunters and savages. Constant fighting would indeed lead all of us to ruin and eventually our own destruction. But if we do not fight, then the Shadows would have already won. And i, for one, do not like being trapped in this World living as a mere hollow shell and mindlessly going about like a robot."

Perhaps i said this a little too forcefully. But Akira did not seem to take offence. Instead, he simply chuckled.

"I guess i wouldn't either. I see that you are as wise as you are pretty."

That statement caught me slightly off-guard.

"Wha-what do you mean by that?"

"Just stating what i thought, that's all."

"..."

I was beginning to think that this guy was slightly worse in character than Yuuko. Akira led me all the way to where the main factory was located. Inside, the Guild members were already starting production lines of guns and ammunition. A large quantity of dirt was brought in by heavy machinery and belts, the furnaces burned fiercely and members either worked the machines, the presses or sorted out the finished product. This sort of efficient and quick method was certain better suited for equipping a large army. But like Yuuko said, this place was suited to create quantity, not quality.

"Yes, the weapons made here are of a lower standard than that of the smaller factory, after all, what we're doing here is simply mass production. As soon as the smaller factory has completed a design for a new weapon, we have to scale it down in such a way that it can be easily mass produced."

Akira explained, picking up a rifle to inspect it.

"... See this one."

Akira tossed me the rifle. Catching it, i looked upon it and noticed a crack in the barrel.

"Such defects are common here. Because we're further away from where the action occurs, the dirt around here doesn't have as much 'essence' as above. We look for defects only after it's been out of the factory, though, just to prevent the production line from grinding to a halt. Quality control looks through each weapon before it gets sent to the storehouses."

"So this Big Site had already begun operations?"

I ask, tossing the rifle back into the pile.

"Yes, we started operations last week, even though the place isn't completely built. That explosion a few days earlier sure set us back. Once we're fully operational, we should be producing at least three times what we're producing now."

"... I see."

I wouldn't know if that was really a good thing. Yes, we need weapons for our fight. But was this really what we should be doing? We're kids! And yet we're talking about weapons, guns and industrial things like we're already working adults! There was just something wrong with all of this.

"Is something wrong?"

Akira asked. I shook my head.

"No, nothing."

I'm thinking too much again. Yuki had told me once about it. I think too deeply and too much. I want to live, just like everyone else. We do not want to live out like mindless zombies. We want freedom. And so we fight for our right. I fight, for my own right.

"Maybe the boss's driving was worse than you expected. Let's go grab something to eat. Come on, it's my treat."

"I-i can't accept that. I mean, you showed me around-"

"Just to pay back for what trouble the boss caused."

"... Alright."

Akira led the way once more, this time out of the factory and back towards the main market. Guiding me through the crowds, Akira did quite a good job at slipping through the busy market square while keeping an eye on me.

"Here, Kurogane."

Akira grabbed my hand out of a sudden when i nearly got lost in the crowd. The action was quite sudden that my mind went blank for the moment.

"You need to stick close, or else you would end up some place where you wouldn't want to be found in."

Akira smirked, pulling me all the way through the crowd with his surprisingly powerful strength. For a slight moment, i felt my heart skip a beat. Skip a few beats, more like it. I think my heart stopped for a full ten seconds. Still, it wouldn't matter, would it? I'm dead anyway. Still, strange that i still have a beating heart even in this afterlife World. Feeling that strong grip somehow made me feel slightly assured. Assured that nothing bad would happen. I wonder why? I mean, the only bad thing that would happen is if some fat sweaty ass block my way and started radiating his evaporated sweat my direction.

That is worse than bad, that's absolutely horrifying. We finally got out of the crowd, ending up at the far end of the market where a sort of coffee shop-like place was set up. Tables, chairs, and even a kitchen? Looking around, i noticed that this part of the market was full of food and drink shops. Some were selling snacks like yaki-tori, tako-yaki, baked yams, taiyaki and such. Others were like the coffee shop we were standing in front of, having tables and chairs for people to sit, relax and enjoy. I was right when i thought that this place was a city. The facilities here made you forget that we were dead, made you forget that we were fighting against an endless horde of dark Shadows, it made you forget that you're hundreds of feet under the ground in a metal city that looked like it came out of the industrial evolution age. Since we were out of the crowd, Akira let go of my hand.

"We're here."

He smiled.

"... Uhn."

I silently nodded, looking at my hand. His warmth still present, and yet somehow when he let go of my hand, it felt... cold. I felt slightly lost and insecure. What was this emtpy feeling in my chest? It was... painful. Not like a bullet wound, or a cut. No, this was like a pain that ached not only my heart. It was a pain that seemed to tear at my soul.

"Kurogane? Are you alright?"

Akira's face suddenly appeared just a mere inch away from mine. My face turned to an uncontrollable shade of red as i thought i was beginning to explode. My heart was beating extremely quickly and quite hard. I don't know what this is, but i know that i can't look at Akira directly any longer or else i would explode right here and now like one of Yuuko's failed experiments.

"I-i'm fine!"

"Are you sure? You're extremely red, you know. Are you ill? Maybe from all of the heat. Come on, let's go sit down."

I can't believe that i'm acting all weird. This isn't me. Maybe Akira is right, maybe it was from Yuuko's mad driving that i'm feeling slightly off.

"Oh? Isn't that Kuro-chii with Akii?"

Yuuko's voice called out from one of the table booths. It seemed that she had recovered and was sitting there with Len. The two of them seemed to be eating some snacks and drinking coffee. Akira and i walked over and sat ourselves at the same booth, Akira next to Yuuko, while i sit next to Len, who was turning red again.

"So, Akii showed you around, i see?"

Yuuko had a devious smile on her lips as she snacked on some dango. Somehow when Yuuko called Akira 'Akii', it made me slightly unnerved. She was calling almost everyone by their last name, twisting with an extra 'chii'. As far as i know, Yuki is the only person Yuuko called by the first name. And Yuki was called 'Yuki-chii'. But Akira is 'Akii'? What is with that over-flowing familiarity that is really making my agitated?

"I'll go get drinks. What do you want to drink, Kurogane-san?"

Akira got up once more. Gah, this is really irritating. Very irritating.

"Kurogane-san?"

"Ice coffee."

I was so ticked off for unknown reasons that my voice seemed to be extremely cold and scary.

"... Are you alright, Kurogane-san?"

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"I. AM. FINE."

Akira seemed to get that i was angry, though he wouldn't know why. Nor do i. Why was i angry? The moment Akira left the table to get drinks, Yuuko burst out in laughter.

"Ga ha ha ha! Kuro-chii! You don't need to take it out on Akii. He's just being nice, that's all. Hmm, still, Akii, huh? Not bad of a choice. He's not bad looking, strong, reliable and skilled. You sure know how to pick them, ga ha ha ha!"

Somehow i don't want Yuuko to tell me that. It seems that it all of my anger originates from Yuuko anyway. But i don't know why. Well, Yuuko has done plenty to earn the wrath of many, but no one can really stay mad at her. For two obvious reasons. One, you just can't stay angry with her character type. A happy-go-lucky and carefree person is impossible to be the target for anger. The other reason? She's the boss of Guild. She supplies everyone with weapons and supplies. Without her, we would not be here. Probably an unknown reason to add to the list is that she can explode anything, anytime. Best not to upset her. But i was upset at her, and still don't know why.

"Come on, cheer up and have a dango. This one is better than other shops since it doesn't have dirt left in them."

Yuuko offered me the snack. Narrowing my eye at her and the dango, i snatched it from her hand and ate it one ball at a time. I don't know why i'm so angry, but now i'm even more pissed at myself for acting so childish.

"Kurogane?"

Len looked at me, slightly worried as i angrily grabbed a stick of grilled squid on a stick and shoved it into my mouth. Nothing beats a squid that isn't seasoned at all, just thrown onto a grill. Still, i taste something crunchy. Sand? Dirt? Whatever. Dip in some sauce and it's good to go.

"Oi, Himura, what did you do?"

Len turned to Yuuko, who leaned back in her seat with her arms behind her head, having that mischievious smirk still stuck on her face.

"Ah~ my dear Amatsu-chii. I did nothing wrong. What Kuro-chii is feeling is what we call 'shitto' (jealousy)."

That made me stop and slightly choke on the squid. Have you ever choked on a squid? It's hell. Neither in your mouth, nor down your throat, it is the only food that can easily drop into your windpipe without warning. Do NOT underestimate the squid.

"Shidou (teaching path)?"

"In other words... Kuro-chii is in love (koi)."

"PFFT! Y-YUUKO!"

"GA HA HA HA!"

I can't believe Yuuko actually said that. But still... Love? Was it really love? My face was becoming extremely hot, like i just blasted my face with a blow torch. My heart beating hard and extremely fast. I don't know what love was like... so was this what it was?

"A fish (koi)? What does a fish have to do with teaching?"

Len asked, obviously not too bright in the mental department. But didn't she say that she could have gotten into a medical school? So is her mind deteriorating from being around Yuuko too long? Or maybe that train ride rattled her brains more than i first thought.

"Hey, i'm back. Here is your drink-... did i miss something?"

Akira raised an eyebrow when he returned. My face burning red, Yuuko having lots of laugh and Len being confused. Yeah, i would ask the same thing too.

* * *

A/N: Fudou Akira... i started to like him after awhile... oh well.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Though now i have another grammar Nazi on my back, i won't drop this story like some other story of mine. I would agree that if the grammar is fixed, the story would be much more enjoyable to read. It would also make things prettier, but there are problems. One problem is i don't have the time to fix every single grammar mistake. Two, there are some parts which require me to 'throw' the entire grammar rule book out the window in order to achieve a certain effect. Three, i am not getting any prizes or rewards for fixing grammar mistakes since this isn't an official published work and merely a fanfiction, therefore there is no incentive to correct the mistakes.

This is not to say that i tolerate a lot of grammar mistakes. I try to fix those that are obviously wrong, but due to the above reasons, i will not get them all. Try to be patient and just make any correction in your mind. Thanks.

One more thing to note, in the previous chapter, the larger factory is called "Big Site", which is suppose to be taken from the actual place in Japan. But in Japan, they call it "Big Sight". I'm not sure if it is simply Engrish or just the way they want it to be. But i'm sticking to the name "Big Site" since it suits Guild better.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 29_

_The lost Day-dreamer_

The entire time at the table was simply nerve wrecking for me. I mean, i'm sitting opposite the guy who makes my heart want to jump out of my chest. To make matters worse, Yuuko was having too much fun at my expense. She would try to reveal this little secret to Akira, which i seriously do no want him to know. I mean, i barely know him and now this? JUST HOW FAST OF A PLOT IS THIS? We had finished our meal and Yuuko wanted to inspect the progress of the Big Site, so Akira was bringing her to the main factory. Obviously, Len and i came along. Still, watching Akira and Yuuko walking side by side and being all friendly with each other really grated my nerves. Jealously... it was a strange and very painful feeling. 'Unpleasant' would be an understatement. The bitterness at the back of my throat wasn't settling down at all. Why did i have to feel this?

"Kuro-chii, you're putting up a very scary aura."

Yuuko smirked while she inspected some of the newer parts of the factory.

"And i wonder whose fault is that?"

"Te-he~"

"'Te-he~' my ass."

I can't believe she still has the guts to act dumb and childish.

"Maa, maa, i apologize for that. As repayment, why don't we go do something fun?"

Yuuko suggested, though i highly doubt her definition of fun is the same as mine. Her definition of fun probably involves high explosives and explosions from said explosives. It also would include demolishing the entire school of this Afterlife.

"Hey, Akii, how are the progress for 'that' special project?"

Yuuko turned to Akira, who scratched his head in thought.

"Well... we're still missing a few things."

"EH? How could you? I tasked you to complete this job! I thought i could trust you!"

Yuuko cried out in a rather dramatic manner while grabbing onto Akira's collar and nearly lifting the guy up into the air.

"Yuuko! Put him down!"

"Kuro-chii, you don't get it. That project! That project was the only reason i was going to come down for!"

Yuuko wailed out like some cheap opera singer. But i don't care! Put Akira down! He's choking!

"B-but! There's just too much to do!"

Akira protested, which caused Yuuko to strangle him even more.

"Yuuko! Put him down! Len! Help me!"

I turn to Len, who seemed to be enjoying the scene a little. Len nodded to my request and immediately ran at Yuuko, doing a clothesline move on the boss of Guild without hesitation. Using her arm, biceps muscles in particular, Len hit Yuuko directly in the throat, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her to let go Akira. Akira collapsed to the ground while Len was busy making sure Yuuko was pinned. I helped Akira to sit up, supporting him while he catches his breath. By being so close to him, and supporting him up, i could feel that under his overalls, Akira had quite a well-built body.

"Akira, are you alright?"

I turn to Akira who was coughing slightly.

"Y-yeah... Thanks, Kurogane-san."

"Still, what is this project that Yuuko's talking about? Something more important than the factory?"

I ask as strange ideas start to come in mind. A giant robot is one of those weird idea.

"Ah... not really. The boss asked us to build an onsen."

My mind blanked out at that moment.

"... Excuse me?"

"Yeah. She was whining about wanting one for ages. Since the position of the larger factory is directly under the school's main water supply."

Akira explained, getting to his feet.

"Since the school's water and food supply are endless, we can tap into it without affecting the supply for the school, thus not alerting any of the school's authorities to our actions down here."

"... So that is Yuuko's pet project."

I can't believe i had my hopes up for something like a giant robot.

"Well, it isn't that bad, actually. If you think about, building an onsen would get the members a place to relax and relieve stress. It would probably be a good thing to have to better unify the SSS2."

Well, what he said did have a point. However it wasn't really necessary for the SSS2, right? But the SSS2 was now weakened with Tetsuya of the diversion division gone, and after we lost a lot of capable fighters during that night. Guild was the main sign of the decay of structure. Rebels and dissenters were growing ever more common. Yuki was right that if Yuuko could not control her men properly, everything would come falling apart. So how is a hot spring suppose to help? Well, since Akira agreed to do it quite willingly, i guess i should just trust his judgement.

"So Yuuko demanded it, but she's being quite unreasonable to demand it done so quickly."

"Actually... the boss commissioned me to do it for two years already."

Akira laughed weakly as he said something extremely incredible.

"... Two... years?"

Just how long has Yuuko been wanting this hot-springs? I think i can now understand why she's so angry at it still being incomplete.

"Well, the digging part isn't the problem. We can tap into the water lines any time. However when we do tap into it, the authorities would know about it immediately. We tried to get the diversion division team on it, and Tetsuya was the one who would pull it off. But as you know, Tetsuya's missing and we can't make a move until all eyes above ground are away from the waterlines the moment we hit them."

"Diversion..."

Again with the diversion division. A lot of breaking down because they cannot function as a unit any more. Yuki did say that she wanted me to help out with the diversion division. So sooner or later this hot spring would be finished. The only question is when. If the diversion division isn't able to draw the attention properly, the student council and the discipline committee would discover the underground network of tunnels and the two factories. The SSS2 would crumble without Guild. This was a delicate situation. We need weapons to defend against the Shadows, and we cannot harm the NPCs. Although NPCs would eventually transform into Shadows, everyone knows that, it is easier to fight an enemy that did not look like a human being, than it is to actually fight an NPC who looks, talks and behaves like a human. You can rationalize harming them, but you can only go so far before your mentality breaks down and you lose yourself to insanity.

"Humans can only kill another human once. Any more than that and he is a monster, a beast wearing the skin of a human."

This was what Shiki told me. Humans kill other humans for many reasons. For wealth, greed, or revenge. Humans are the only creatures who would kill their own species for things that isn't directly related to survival. Acting upon pure emotions or human-made wealth. Humans are certainly ugly creatures. Back to the problem at hand, however, was that the hot springs cannot be made if the Diversion team doesn't move.

"... Akira, do you want this onsen done?"

I ask him.

"Well, it certainly would help. The members down here are stressed out working day and night. A good relaxation would certainly help them, and me."

"... I see. Okay, i'll see what i can do. Come on, Len, let's go."

I turned to Len, who was getting off the unconscious Yuuko. Who knows what Len did to her.

"Kurogane-san? 'See what you can do'... you don't mean-"

"It's not like i'm doing this for you. Yuki asked me to do something about the diversion division. Since i'm going there, i might as well help you out with this project."

I replied, walking off with Len following behind. Really, i hate myself for not being honest.

* * *

Being back on the surface was somewhat nice. The feel of the cool breeze, the blast of fresh air, and nothing was hot and sweaty or dark. However as expected, Yuki had put me to work almost immediately. She had managed to assemble a small group from the Diversion division who were willingly to band together to try to get their division back in order. For now, i'm to meet their current temporary leader.

"So who are we suppose to meet?"

Len asked, following me as we head from the staff building of Fort towards the gymnasium to meet the assembled group. Note that we're walking since using a bike would attract a lot of unwanted attention. Can't say the same for the way Len almost wanted to bring along all of her guns. This is a diversion division mission, so minimal weapons only. Although Len was part of Ein's assault division, Yuki temporarily 'borrowed' her. I don't need to go into detail for others to understand just what happened. I look at the scrap piece of paper Yuki gave me. On it was simply a name. However it was some kanji that i wasn't used to reading.

"... Kinoji... Awase."

Len read the paper as she leaned over to take a look.

"... Is that how you read this kanji?"

The last name is in katakana, so that was easy. But the surname was something more difficult to read.

"Ah... there are a lot of ways to read this kanji. But being a former yankee, i can more or less guess."

That isn't something to be proud of, Len. And guessing what someone's name is suppose to be is a little rude. The two of us reached the gym and stepped inside, finding a whole group of people had gathered. About twenty boys and girls were all standing idly around with no real idea of what was going on. For now, let's look for Kinoji Awase.

"Is Kinoji-san here?"

I raised my voice slightly to let everyone hear it. Everyone turned to look me for a moment, then to each other. For two whole minutes, no reply. Not a sound was made.

"... That's odd. I thought Kinoji-san was suppose to be here."

I sigh, looking at the piece of paper. Maybe Len got the name wrong.

"You're looking for Awase?"

A student suddenly spoke up.

"Ah, that's right. Is she here?"

The student nodded, and pointed over to the stage where a rather sleepy girl was sitting, swaying left and right as though she would just collapse on the stage right then and there.

"You might need this."

The student passed me what appears to be a canister with a horn attached to it. One of those loud signallers that are sometimes used to signal the start of an event or a race.

"She's often day-dreaming and sleepy that we're just amazed she's still standing."

The guy sighed. I thanked him and walked towards the stage. Kinoji Awase. A young girl with slightly untidy chestnut brown hair that went slightly past her shoulders. Her thin frame was rather unsuited for battle, and her pale smooth skin clearly showed that she either did not go into battle at all, or had very good skin care products.

"... Kinoji-san?"

I ask, not really wanting to use the horn. Awase swayed slightly to the right, her mouth smiling a little. Ah, a drool. What sort of dream is she having?

"Kinoji-san? Are you awake?"

I tried to shake her, but all i did was make her head bobble all around like a bobble head doll. Do i really have to use this horn? I look to the other members, who were all covering their ears already. They probably knew that i would have to use the horn eventually. Looking at the small canister, i felt slightly unsure about this entire set-up. I mean, i looked at the lable on the can and it said exactly this, **_'SUPER STRENGTH BLASTER HORN, MADE BY YUUKO, BOSS OF THE UNDERWORLD'_**. Anything made by Yuuko is most likely unstable. I stood a good distance away, stretching out my arm with the horn and cringed as i pressed the can. The horn gave a loud sound that nearly made me die! Forget going deaf, i was lucky my head didn't explode right there and then. What is this horn? Super strength? More like monster strength. That can nearly flew out of my hand!

"Hmm~? Is it morning already?"

I look up and saw that Awase was rubbing her eyes and yawning. Like she just woke up. Just woke up... great. We've got a sleepy head for a temporary head. Is this really going to be alright?

"Awase, it's already evening."

One of the guys said.

"Ah, really? Hmm... where's dinner?"

Most of the students laughed at that, though i wasn't.

"Those two came here looking for you."

The student pointed to Len and i. Awase looked at me with a sleepy smile, her eyes showing her fatigue. She just slept and she's still tired?

"Ah... you must be Kurogane... Yuki sent you, right?"

"That's right. So you're the temporary leader of the Diversion division, Kinoji Awase?"

Awase nodded with her out-of-it smile. Then she froze. Her head tilted slightly, her smile still sleepy. She wasn't moving for a full two minutes. Suddenly i noticed that she had actually fallen asleep again. A bubble from her nose and drool from her mouth were clear indications of that very sleep.

"... This is getting nowhere. Are you sure she's suppose to be the leader?"

Len asked, clearly not impressed. I'm not too sure if Yuki got the right person for the job. Still, i need to get this task done. Akira was waiting for the operations to begin so that he can start on the hot springs. I turn to the guy who handed me the horn.

"Do you guys have another leader?"

"Not really. Everyone pretty much goes about their own ways and Awase is the only person to actually form a sizeable group from the scattered Diversion members. She may not look like it, but she knows what she's doing."

He replied. You got one thing right, she sure doesn't look like she can do anything. Does she even know anything that she's doing at the moment? I heaved a sigh, thinking that this is useless. There wasn't anything we can do for today. I climbed up onto the stage and faced the gathered students.

"It's getting late, and since Kinoji-san is currently... occupied, we'll have to start our operations tomorrow. Report back here tomorrow at 9. That's all."

The students started to mumble and disperse, leaving me, Len, and the sleeping Awase.

"What now?"

Len asked, her stomach grumbling slightly.

"For now, let's try to wake Kinoji-san up. It's almost dinner time and if the student council sees us here-"

"DINNER?"

Awase's sudden burst of energy made me jump, right off the stage. That caused me to land ungracefully on my butt.

"Ara~? Kurogane-chan, what are you doing on the floor?"

Awase asked innocently.

"... What do you think?"

"Hmm... You need more calcium. Ah! I know, let's all go eat dinner together!"

Awase seemed to be extremely happy about that idea, and before either Len or i could protest, we were dragged off by Awase, whose sudden burst of energy only seemed to be fuelled by her hunger. If anyone is driven by hunger, you know that isn't a good thing.

* * *

"Hmm~ this place has such nice niku-udon."

Awase smiled as she ate her bowl of noodles. Slurping up a few noodles, she seemed to have the face of pure ecstasy.

"Ahhhh~ taste of happiness."

Awase sighed with pure bliss in her eyes. While i sat there with my ramen, thinking about how to deal with this person, Len was busy trying to find a way to eat her meal. The super spicy dynamite mabo tofu. Apparently, Len was accidentally knocked against by two assault members who were playfully shoving each other. The result was Len's finger accidentally pressing the order for mabo tofu, and that the two assault members were sent to the infirmary with heavy bruising and broken bones. One of them died on the spot as Len performed a pile-driver move and the other died later, since Len did a german suplex on him before kicking him in the place where men do not want to be kicked.

"... You don't have to eat it, you know."

I look to Len who was poking her food with her spoon, sweat dripping down her brows and her eyes glaring at the offensive plate of food. It was like she was trying to defuse a bomb. Well, in most cases it probably was a bomb.

"But... i'm hungry."

Len's mouth was drooling, her stomach growling in defiance of her instincts. Just seeing that red coloured dish was more than enough to deter my hunger, though. After what Ein did to my ramen the other day, i'm steering way clear from any and all spicy food.

"... Here i go."

Len grabbed a spoon full of that red lava and shoved it in her mouth. It did not take even a second before Len screamed out in pain.

"GAAAAAHHH!"

With fire literally spewing from her swollen lips, Len began running around for water. Instead of water, however, someone took a fire extinguisher and shot it straight at Len. Well, she would be out of it for awhile. I turn back Awase, seeing her still showing her blissful face. I noticed a familiar figure behind Awase, and realized that it was Takako. However Takako was motionless, face in her bowl. Was she alive? Or just a corpse. A full minute in, Takako finally got back up, her face dripping with soup and bits of food. That's disgusting. But somehow or rather, she finished her bowl of food, placed it on top of a pile of empty dishes that were sitting next to her, and ran off to get another plate of food. That girl can sure eat. I guess different people have different tastes in what they find pleasure and joy in.

"Are you not eating?"

Awase asked, looking at my bowl while her mouth was drooling. I look down at my bowl, seeing as i had eaten about a quarter of it already and was full from eating those snacks down in Guild. I guess after that bowl of niku-udon, Awase was still hungry. I passed my bowl to her, though i was rather regretting that decision. Though i may be full, i still loved ramen.

"Really? I can have it?"

"... Sure."

Eat it before i regret it to the point i would grab it back. I took a drink while watching Awase literally demolish my bowl of food. She really was hungry.

"... So what are the plans for tomorrow?"

I ask, placing the cup down on the table.

"Tomorrow? Oh, the diversion. Well... Yuki-san asked me to deal with the club activities. During the weapons and ammunition shortage, a lot of members went about stealing things from the various clubs."

Awase started. I know about this theft of club equipments, i was one of them. Although i did take a bow from the archery club, i accidentally took a male bow, which weighs more than a female bow. About twenty kilograms.

"In order to get the student council and discipline committee off our backs, we're going in to say that we're planning of expanding our own club activities. So Yuki sent in a letter of challenge to every club we stole from. If we win, we keep the equipments and they let us use their things in the future."

Yuki did what? Heh, should have known that she wouldn't sit still. But to write a letter of challenge to every club? Is she nuts? Who knows how many clubs there are in this school? More than i care to count, that's for sure.

"And if we lose?"

"Well, if we lose, we would return all equipment and would have to do the club chores for a month."

"... You have got to be kidding me."

A month? That's too long! What sort of cruel punishment does Yuki think she can dish out to us? The stakes are too high! And not to mention the odds are against us! We're going up against regulars! NPCs who are probably programmed to do nothing but that single activity! And we're going into challenge them on their own home turf? There are limits to what we can do, even if we can't die in this damn World.

"Hmm... Well, just do your best."

"... Can i ask about something?"

I remembered about the hot springs.

"Sure. Ask me anything."

Awase smiled, her words still sounding sleepy and out-of-it. But at least she was wide awake. Or at least i hoped so.

"Guild wants to tap into the main water supply. We need to create a distraction. Do you know how?"

Awase cocked her head sideways, squinting her eyes as she contemplated on it. Was thinking really that hard?

"We could go all-out guns blazing. But that would lead to more trouble."

Awase said. Well, of course guns-blazing would be bad.

"The other way, is to get the student council to look at us only. We can achieve it if we make a huge ruckus tomorrow with the clubs. Just in case, i'll get some members to attend classes and make some noise there. I think that should distract the student council long enough for Guild to do their thing."

I sat there, a little surprised and dumbfounded when i heard Awase say all of that. Was this the same Awase who was sleeping constantly and didn't seem to be all too reliable? Just who is this person?

"Hm? Is there something on my face?"

"... No."

I'm just a little shocked, that's all. Awase was actually saying proper things. Maybe Yuki and that other student was right. Awase might be the right person for the job to take over head of Diversion division. But still, her constant habit of day-dreaming and sleeping might be a problem. Perhaps what the Diversion division needs is not one, but two leaders. Since the division's range of activities are so wide and varied, it might be better to split up the division into two groups. Like most divisions, there are different squads in the Diversion division, but unlike the other divisions, the type of people and the things each squad does contrast each other so much that i'm surprised that Tetsuya even managed to keep the entire division together as he did.

"Hmm~ that was really filling. Oh well, we'll continue this tomorrow."

Awase smiled, pushing the bowl to the side where her other empty bowl was.

"Good night, Kurogane-..._zzzz_."

"DON'T SLEEP HERE!"


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Sorry i couldn't update. It was a hectic week, with exams and paper due. While i seriously hope i do well, i'm quite down-to-Earth, so my chances aren't that good. Now that i have a break, i'm trying to catch up on a lot of stuff, as well as trying to send all of my crap back home in boxes... 7 huge boxes that weigh at least 50kg each. I'm going to kill my back later.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 30_

_Betting Game_

The next day, everyone who was part of the operation assembled in the Gymnasium. For some odd reason, the number increased from yesterday's twenty, to today's thirty. Most of them seemed pretty relaxed, talking amongst themselves and having fun. Others were not so sure, figiting with their fingers or small arms. Those were probably new members recently assigned to this division, meaning this was probably their first operation. Yuki must have sent us some of the new recruits to get some on-field experience, though i doubt they would learn anything worthwhile. Standing from the stage, i could see most of what these members were ready for. Some were dressed for the club activities, some in jersey and such. For some reason, there was a girl dressed in a maid uniform, but i won't question that for the sake of my own sanity. I turn to Awase, who was also on the stage, but was blankly staring at the other end of the gym. She out-of-it again.

"... Well, let's get this thing going."

I grabbed the piece of paper that Awase was holding, and she still didn't budge. Well, at least i got the paper. On it was the plan and the different things that are needed to be done.

"As all of you know, we are to challenge the various clubs at their own activities. Our objective is not only to beat them, but to cause enough disturbance to get the student council to look our way, but not enough to make them chase us. The clubs have agreed our challenges during school hours, so this will cause the student council and the discipline committee to decide between taking classes, or take action against us. Each of you would be assigned to at least two tasks, since we're short of people."

I nod to Len, who started to distribute the assignments according to the list of people Yuki compiled. Some of them were grumbling about their assignments, but we did not have a choice. Some were assigned to a mixture of clubs, some were clubs and classroom. Those who were assigned all classroom duties were probably the unluckiest, since they would need to cause a disturbance in their classrooms that would make the student council take action. Those people would also need to be able to get out fast if there were any sign of danger.

"Remember, no use of explosives or weapons until it is deemed necessary. Do not harm any NPC and if anything should happen, use the smoke bombs give to you. That's all."

The members dispersed once more and headed out of the gym to their respective positions. It was time the Diversion division fought back, and if only their new leader could snap out of it.

"Len, where are we going to first?"

I turn to Len, who passed me my own assignments. Len had stubbornly chosen to follow me, for reasons i am not too sure on.

"... Why do i have to do so many?"

I ask, looking at the long list of things that Yuki had given me to do. At the bottom of the paper, a small print said, 'Pay back for slacking off work'. Slacking off? Me? I had been worked to my bone ever since i came here! That damn Yuki. Akuma! Oni! I swear that when i get back, i will do more than shout at her.

"What's first... Eh?"

I had to rub my eyes to make sure i wasn't dreaming or anything. The first thing on my list was-

"... Ikebana (Flower arrangement)?"

* * *

For reasons that were beyond me, i was assigned to challenge the Ikebana club. This is an unusual club to challenge, and in the first place, what the hell was stolen from this club? What is there to steal anyway? Flowers? And this sort of culture-type of club wasn't my style. With Len following me while dragging a snoring Awase, the three of us made it to the flower arrangement club that was on the third floor of complex C. That's the furthest one away from the gymnasium. I stopped outside the door to the clubroom, and was impressed by just how it was designed. As expected of culture-type clubrooms. They sure a different. A traditional screen doors, tatami mats and wooden frames. It was like a small traditional room was just slapped onto this floor. The three of us stepped in, taking off our shoes and walked over to the awaiting club members.

"So you're the members of that SSS2 who challenged us?"

The first girl asked. I noticed that all of them were dressed in traditional kimonos. Wasn't it tough to dress up like that just for a challenge?

"Yes. Though you have to excuse me if i seem rude. What exactly was stolen from here? I wasn't explained everything."

More like i'm interested to know what the hell would our members want from this club.

"We had several of our cutting tools taken from us. Though we can get replacements, it would be better for you people to come forward with this challenge."

I have no clue what this NPC is talking about, but if Yuki wants me to get this done with, then fine.

"So you have three members?"

The girl looked at me, Len and Awase. Unfortunately the temporary leader is still asleep.

"We'll have a short competition. I will get three members as well to compete. The time limit is thirty minutes. We will each have the same type of flowers to choose from. Judging will be done by me, the club leader. Is that fine with you?"

She would be the judge? Isn't that slightly unfair? And isn't thirty minutes a little too short?

"I assure you that i will be fair. To me, the art and flowers will tell me everything i need to know."

I really don't get this at all. And still, it is rather unnerving to talk to an NPC like this. Sure, i've talked to a couple of NPCs before, but i just never got used to the idea that these were soulless beings.

"Okay, let's begin."

Len managed to get Awase to wake up, and so the three of us took a seat on the tatami mat in front of three bases to work with. The arrangement of flowers that we were provided with were as the NPC said, fair and equal. However the problem is that neither, Len nor i have any experience with this. I looked across where our three competitors were sitting directly opposite us, each of them meticulously cutting and placing their chosen stalks into the base. I turned and looked at Awase. Hopefully she could have some better chance than me-... or not. Awase was holding onto a stalk of chrysanthemum, blankly staring at it.

She's off to her own World again. Len was no better, as she cut off the leaves, trimmed off the stalk, and also cut off the flower itself. She stuck the naked bare stalk in her base, and glared at it like it was the most offensive thing in her life. This was hopeless. We're going to lose. In the first place, what am is the point of this? I look up to our opponents. Their arrangements were beginning to take shape, and i really do envy that. Wait, envy? I looked at each of the my opponents, and took note of the one opposite Len. That NPC's arrangement seemed to be the best. I studied her arrangement and her hand techniques carefully.

My mind replaying each cut she made, each stalk she chose and how she handled them as she placed them in the base. My hands automatically moved, picking up the same stalks, trimming the same places, and placing it in the same positions as hers. This was what i could do best. Copy others. I don't know why i'm good at it, nor do i actually know how i am able to do it. All that i do know is that by simply observing someone, i can do what they were doing. However each time i did it, a deep hollow feeling came creeping up from within me. I felt cold, like an empty shell. In some ways, this skill is almost like how the NPCs are. Mere an empty shell with no original thought.

"And... Time's up."

I heaved a sigh of relief as i more or less managed to put on something. I look over to see Len's, and was not all too surprised to see a bunch of naked stalks and drooping flowers. Indeed, such arrangement could only mean one term, 'chaotic death'.

"Harumi, your choice of winter seasons really compliments the Seika style. Although you have placed too much emphasis on the top."

The club's president started the judging.

"Shouko, as you have just begun, the Nageire style choice is perfect. Although you do seem to have some distractions."

Distractions? I guess she must be talking about the leaves left on some of the stalks. I really have no idea on how to judge these things. Nor do i really get it. Now the judging went to us. First up was Len.

"... I have no idea how to describe this."

The club president said it quite frankly, and to be honest, i have no idea how to describe Len's arrangement as well.

"Erm... very... straight forward. Rough, though very honest."

I don't think complimenting her would work that well though. Now onto mine.

"Onto you-... This is..."

The club president looked at me with a slightly surprised look.

"This looks like Shouko's work. Almost like a mirror... You have no path of your own, do you?"

"... What?"

Though i sort of knew the truth, it was surprising to hear an NPC tell me this.

"Ikebana is more than just an arrangement of flowers in a certain way. The arrangement itself is like a mirror to your own heart and soul. This is clearly Shouko's style. What this can tell me is that you... have no ambition of your own. You have to self on which to know yourself by. Like a simple hollow shell."

_'Be more like your brother!'_

A sudden voice intruded into my mind, forcing me to wince in slight pain. That voice. I know of it. I've heard of it.

_'Kou... my sweet, sweet son.'_

No... i'm not your son. The pain that wrecked my head was quite intense.

"Are you alright?"

The club president asked. I waved it off. The pain was slightly subsiding, but it was still present.

"I-... i'm fine."

The president bit her lip, but nodded.

"Perhaps it is for the best that you rest. This arrangement must be more tiring for you than you thought."

The president finally turned to Awase.

"And lastly-... This-... this is... Rikka?"

The president's surprised reaction caught my attention, and through my slight pain, i looked over to Awase's arrangement. What i saw truly surprised me. A beautiful formation of carefully cut and arranged branches, white chrysanthemums, pine and other flowers and plants. The arrangement itself was vibrant and full, yet subtle at the same time.

"Hmm~ this is so soothing."

Awase smiled sleepily, her finger fiddling with a spare twig.

"T-this... such beauty... elegance... the complex use of the plants to create such a simplistic image!"

The president seemed to be rather shocked, surprised, and in awe. Almost speechless. I have to admit, it was beautiful, yet how in the World did Awase, out of all people, achieve this?

"So? How did i do?"

Awase asked, a slightly hint of cheekiness in her tone. The club president was speechless, her mouth opening and closing without noise, trying to find the words to say something but can't.

"I-... i... i concede defeat. This is your victory."

The president finally said, lowering her head to Awase, who simply smiled and twirled the twig in her hand.

"Oh good. Looks like we won, Kurogane."

"...Y-yeah.. we did."

* * *

We left the Ikebana club, though i still have no idea on what just happened. I thought we were surely going to lose, but then Awase suddenly pulled through. Apparently with some buddhist zen form, or something. Apparently it was an extremely old style of arrangement, but when done correctly, it could produce something extremely beautiful. Just like what Awase did.

"What's next?"

Len asked, trying to get past the fact that she lost to the sleepy-head Awase. I pulled out my list and looked at the one under Ikebana.

"... Chadou (Tea ceremony)."

"Again?"

Len did not seem happy, but she still carried on. Tea ceremony, right after Ikebana. Might as well be Chabana (flower arrangement for tea ceremony). But my thoughts were not exactly focused on the Chadou. It went back to the Ikebana club. Before we left, the president told me something odd. And the fact that an NPC would tell me something like that was even more odd.

"You are like a mirror. You have no sense of self, do not have your own individual identity. You might want to watch yourself, for a mirror that only reflects what it sees would only lead to a life without salvation. Forever locked in a cycle of repeating and reflecting others would eventually lead to your own demise. There is a way break out of it, however. When a mirror is exposed to another mirror, it can either get lost within its own cycle of reflection, or it can finally break free of its cycle. Be wary for it is a double edged sword."

Was what the club president told me. A long and cryptic warning. I would not know what everything she said meant, but i guess in time i will know.

"We're here."

Len said, breaking my thoughts. I looked up to see that just a mere two classrooms away from the Ikebana clubroom, was the chadou clubroom. Strangely enough, it looked almost exactly the same as the Ikebana club from the outside. Screen door, tatami mats, and once again we need to take off our shoes.

"... Shall we?"

I turn to Len and Awase. Awase just nodded slightly, her eyes were already mere slits as her sleep was fast catching up. Len was... irritated. Can't say i blame her, though. Both Len and i weren't wearing normal shoes. We were both wearing high boots and they were a hassle to take off and put back on constantly. The Assault division were issued boots rather than shoes, mainly because of the training Ein pushes them through, and Fort had a mixture of the regular shoes shoes and with boots. Yuki gave boots to those she had deemed capable of holding on their own in a fight. In other words, if you're in Fort and you're wearing boots, you have a certain rank of superiority over the others.

In addition to the boots, those that Yuki recognized were also given access to all weapons and each of us carried our own specialized weapon. Like Takako's chain, and Yukari's giant cleaver, there were some who carried individualized weapons that no one else could use. I had not seen Yuki's own personalized weapon, but i'd rather not. Yuki's chosen, as some had come to call us, were looked up by others as we were recognized by Yuki, the queen of Fort, for accomplishments in battle, and for our constant service. Those that scorn us called us 'Yuki's dogs', though i could see where they got that weird title from. Yuki more or less treated us like dogs, getting us to do her work for her. Actually, skip dogs, we were treated like slaves.

"Welcome."

A rather stern looking fellow appeared in a yukata at the doorway. The NPC shifted his glasses at us in a rather pompous manner, snorting at probably our uniforms before walking back inside the clubroom.

"... Rude bastard."

Len clenched her fist, ready to go all out for a fight, but i stopped with. Chadou, the way of the tea, is quite similar to Ikebana. Patience and tolerance are the key here. Still, i don't know how we are suppose to challenge this club. The three of us stepped into the clubroom, and sat down on the tatami floor mat.

"... You're suppose to sit in seiza."

The NPC club president said in his dignified manner. Seiza, just great. My legs are going to kill me now. It was also tradition to sit in Seiza for Ikebana, but the club president of the Ikebana club was generous enough to let us sit however we like.

"Hmph, nothing but rude monkeys. Interrupting school time for something so foolish."

Keep talking you dumb robot. We'll see who gets the last laugh.

"This challenge is simple. I will first initiate the ceremony. I will make three different teas for each of you. Then, once done, i expect each of you to make the exact same tea as i did for you. If even one of you manages to do it, i would accept my loss."

This bastard is getting cocky. So you want us to replicate what you serve? Fine! Let's do this! This round is in my court, and i will make you cry for even thinking of doing this stupid challenge! BRING IT!

"Let's begin."

The three of us were forced to sit in seiza, forced to watch the club president prepare the tea. If you have never been in a tea ceremony before, you might not want to. It is by far the most tiring and boring thing you can do. Sitting in seiza would cut off most, if not all, blood circulation to your legs. The term 'legs falling asleep' is a very common outcome in this. This ceremony could go on for hours, depending on various factors. But still this tea ceremony demands patience. I carefully watched the way the club president handled the tea leaves, the way he poured the tea. Every single detail i strained to remember. This was taxing, even for me, and replicating this would not be easy. After about an hour and a half, we were finally served our bowls of tea.

"Hmm~ smells nice. Itadakimasu."

Awase did not even wait for anyone to tell her to start before she grabbed her bowl and drained it in one go in a manner that really mirrored the way Takako devours her food. Then again, the tea in such ceremonies aren't usually alot in volume. Obviously, Awase fails.

"Ah~ gochisou-samadesu. A little bitter."

Awase smiled her usual half asleep smile. Next was Len's turn. Len bowed slightly to the president, accepting her bowl. She gently turned the bowl, bringing it to her lips. Odd, i didn't know that Len knew the procedures in tea ceremonies. But What Len did was exactly what the ceremony entails. Graceful, patient and elegant. Len placed the bowl back down.

"Thank you."

Len's actions even surprised the club president. Now was my turn. I had observed Len's mannerism, so this was no problem. I hope.

* * *

Well, that went off without a hitch. I think. Stepping out of the clubroom, i heaved a sigh of relief, though Len wasn't really on the same page.

"... Len? What's wrong? Your legs still asleep?"

I ask the to other girl, seeing as how she still wasn't moving after putting on her boots.

"... Kurogane... don't you find it odd?"

"Hm? What is?"

"WHY DID IT SUDDENLY CUT TO THIS? WHERE IS THE TEA SCENE? THIS IS ALL TOO FAST!"

Ah, i did notice that. While i did question it, i did not really mind it much. As if we have much time to complete this entire list of clubs.

"Still, i'm surprised that you know how to perform the ceremony, Len."

I changed the subject, hoping to steer Len's anger in another direction.

"... My... father. He made me sit through those things, saying that even if i don't want to associate myself with his way of life, i would still have to observe and learn the fundamentals of what the ceremony entails."

Or maybe not. I think i hit another landmine.

"W-well... let's see what's next on the list."

I took out the piece of paper, but stopped when i noticed that Awase wasn't moving as well.

"Kinoji-san? Are you alright?"

I ask, hoping she hadn't fallen asleep again.

"Kuro~gane~... help me~"

Awase looked at me with her eyes somewhat teary. Just what happened?

"My legs... they've fallen asleep!"

"... I see."

I thought that something like this would happen. Just depended on when it would actually happen. I look at my list. Next on it was the Naginata club. A physical sport so Len and i can handle this by ourselves.

"Kinoji-san, why don't you rest for a while. The next one can be handled by me and Len."

"Eeehhh~? You're leaving me?"

Stop whining like a baby.

"You can catch up with us later. We need to complete all of these challenges by the end of the day and it's nearly lunch time."

Awase whined, complained, and threw a tantrum for about five more minutes, before she finally relented. Len and I headed off to the Naginata club, which was two building complexes away.

"Say, Kurogane."

Len spoke up as we were walking in the open courtyard.

"Hm?"

"Have you ever done Naginata before?"

I thought about that before, and though i do know what a naginata is, i have no idea on how to use it. As far as my memories go, i never touched the weapon before.

"I don't think so."

"... Is that bad?"

"Maybe."

I don't think Len has ever touched a naginata before either. Maybe the closest thing she held to a naginata was a steel pipe. Yes, when Len holds onto a steel pipe, you can sort of see an image of a large tiger appear behind her as she more or less reverts back to her yankee days. I just hope she doesn't do something stupid. Or go wild.

"Do you really think just the two of us can do it?"

Len asked as we finally reached the building complex.

"Well, i think there would a few others who are joining us for this."

"... And they couldn't join us for that dumb flower and tea clubs?"

"At least we didn't get the calligraphy club, or the kabuki club."

I wonder why those clubs actually exist in this damn school. There's just too many clubs! Is there really a need to have this many? And that tea club, there's only one member! Abolish it already!

"There's also a checkers club, shougi club, go club, trekking club, and so on."

I said, remembering some of the weirder clubs like a black magic club, a card collecting club, an eating club and even a toilet appreciation club. What in the World is a toilet appreciation club? Can someone explain to me before i go insane?

"So i guess we got the better end of the deal?"

Len asked.

"Probably."

The two of us stepped into the hall where the Naginata club was practising. This sport is mainly for women, though i heard that overseas practitioners were mainly men. I spotted a couple of SSS2 members who were standing by the side, getting their own equipment ready. Obviously the NPCs were not impressed, looking over at us with disdainful looks and obvious spite. Well, the SSS2 members were not all that different. Some members did not even look in the direction of the NPCs. Len and i walked over to the SSS2 members.

"Are you girls the ones who are competing?"

I ask. Some of the girls turned to us, others were simply minding their own business.

"You must be Kurogane of Fort. You came just in time. The match is about to begin. It's a ten on ten match."

One of the girls explained, handing two bags of gear to me and Len.

"Ten on ten?"

"We got into a heated argument with the NPCs, and somehow the five on five match became a ten on ten."

The girl sighed, shaking her head in dismay. Obviously she isn't pleased with how things turned out.

"Don't tell me it's an all-out brawl."

Len looked over to NPCs where the NPC girls were looking extremely fired up and angry.

"Luckily, no. If it did become that, the discipline committee would descend upon us almost instantly. It's two matches at the same time, so we're splitting our group into two teams. The two of you would be under Tomoe over there."

The girl pointed over to another girl who was sitting on the floor, looking over to the NPCs practice. Her soft facial features were really befitting a young princess, or maybe a rich girl. She had long hair that was tied into a tail, and a rather impressive... chest.

"The match hasn't even started and i feel like i've already lost... to my own teammate."

* * *

A/N: In this chapter, i have made Awase quite the amazing person. More so than the original creator of her character wanted so. I put in things i'm not too familiar with actually, like the flower arrangement, the tea ceremony, and actually, i don't know anything about naginata competitions or the sport. Truthfully, i just put together things i could find on the internet, which in hindsight, isn't such a good idea. Seiza is actually the traditional way of sitting... or the most cruel punishment ever invented. Try sitting in that position for an hour, you will suffer greatly.


	31. Chapter 31

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 31_

_The Untouched Sakura_

After changing into the gear, which is the same armour type as kendo, i sat down on the floor next to the leader of our team, Tomoe. Her focus on the other team was fierce and quite commendable. She must be studying them, looking for weaknesses. She must be extremely good at this. Such a stoic and solid posture, and even though she had such a fierce stance, the feeling that she gave off wasn't tense at all. It was as though she was calm, calculating the enemy's strength. Confidence? Perhaps. She did look like she had a lot of experience with this, from the way she sat, to her posture. She also gave off this air of superiority, really almost like some rich noble aristocrat. She is definitely someone to look out for.

"Alright, we're up."

The girl from earlier called out, and all of us got to our feet. All except for Tomoe.

"Erm... are you alright?"

I tap Tomoe's shoulder lightly. She blinked a couple of times, before turning to look at me.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that."

She smiled a little, getting to her feet. Is she really alright?

"... Did you see anything worth noting about our opponents?"

I ask as we head over to the match area.

"Hm? Oh, yes i did."

So she was observing and sizing up our opponents.

"That girl over there has a nice pair of earrings."

"... huh?"

"That's so nice... maybe i should ask her where she got those."

This person... IS USELESS!

"This may be worse than having Kinoji around."

Len sighed as we sat down around the practice mats that were going to be used for our match.

"Kinoji-san isn't that bad."

"That's easy for you to say. You don't have to drag her drooling ass around."

True, but it's not like i have your strength. Speaking of Awase, i wonder whether she's coming here or not. But now isn't the time to worry about that. The matches had already begun. First up for our team was... Tomoe. This wasn't going to go well at all. Tomoe got to her feet silently, walking up to the practice mat where her opponent was already in stance. Tomoe closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. Her hands slowly shifted and seemingly glided through the air as she took up her own stance. There was something different about Tomoe now. What was this sudden and immense grip of fear that overwhelmed me? The intensity that came from Tomoe was unmistakable. It was like looking at a hungry tiger in the face.

"Ah, Tomoe went into her 'Gozen' mode."

One of the other girls said.

"Gozen mode?"

I ask.

"Ah, Sasaki Tomoe may be a bit of an airhead normally, but whenever she holds onto a naginata, she becomes nearly superhuman. We call it Gozen, because of how the way she wields her naginata is like how history describes Gozen Tomoe."

The girl explained. Gozen Tomoe, the legendary female samurai in the early history of Japan. Gozen Tomoe was probably the best example of how women were capable of being equals to men on the battlefield.

"Tomoe's weapon is called 'Sen Hime', and her special skill is called 'chidori'(thousand birds)."

Sen hime was the name of a princess during the Tokugawa shogunate era. She is actually the grand niece of the famed warlord, Oda Nobunaga, her grandmother being Nobunaga's sister, Oichi. Sen hime was famed to be a woman of great beauty and grace, and while there had been several different tales on her life, it was quite a common thing to associate the naginata to her. She wasn't a fighter, but Sen Hime's bloodline was one that was filled with war and strife. People believed that she represented both the tenderness of a wife and mother, as well as the ferocity and skills of the Oda clan. Of course i don't really give much stock into that. If anything, Sen Hime would be used like her grandmother, a political tool of marriage. For a weapon to be named after her would mean that such a weapon represents grace and beauty.

"Start!"

The referee shouted and the NPC opponent charged almost immediately. However Tomoe easily side stepped and with one swift strike, scored a hit on her opponent.

"... That was amazing."

Len muttered in awe, and she was right. The way Tomoe moved was so swift, elegant and clean that it was like she simply glided through the air.

"One point!"

The referee shouted as the two participants went back to their positions. Tomoe's opponent gave a loud shout, trying to get Tomoe to show an opening. But Tomoe stood quietly still. Unmoving, unflinching, Tomoe silently brought her weapon down towards her side.

"Here it is... Tomoe's chidori."

Tomoe's opponent sees Tomoe's actions as an opening, charging forward once more. However what happened next defied all possible explanations. Almost within an instant, so fast that my eyes could barely register what happened, Tomoe appeared behind her opponent with her back facing the opponent. Multiple strikes, all within that split second. A minimum of five blows, one to the left leg, two to the torso, one to the right wrist, and one to the head. Those were the major blows that were obvious, but who knows how many more blows Tomoe actually dealt. What i just bore witness to was something that really defied all laws of nature.

Even my own quick draw could not deal so many blows in one instant. My quick draw was just so fast that the enemy would be unable to react. This... this chidori move was more than fast. It was accurate, powerful and extremely quick. The scene replayed in my mind continuously. The images that i had managed to see burned into my memories. Could i copy that move? Unlikely. I can only copy the moves that i can see perfectly. This was something else. Something on an entirely different level. I could not even see half of the moves that Tomoe performed. There is no way i can copy that. Gozen Tomoe indeed.

"... Amazing."

That was all i could say as the match was over. Tomoe's overwhelming attack had demoralized her opponent, and the opposing team in general. Tomoe bowed to her opponent and came back to the side where we were.

"Looks like i won."

Tomoe smiled sheepishly. This is just ridiculous. Looks like? More like you dominated the field! Just what are you?

"Next!"

The referee shouted, and the next opponent got up to the match. Len was next. She got up to her feet, her headphones still blaring out loud music. I was actually amazed that she had not once taken those off, nor did she turn the music off either. During the Ikebana, nor during the Chadou, neither club presidents showed any sign of even noticing that Len had music blaring out from her headphones around her neck.

"... Sasaki-san, may i use your move?"

Len asked Tomoe, who simply smiled back.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but okay."

"Len, are you sure you can use that?"

I turn to Len, who simply gripped onto her weapon tightly.

"I... can probably do it."

Len grabbed her headphones and took them off, placing them on the floor where she sat. This would be the first time i've seen Len without her headphones. She stepped up to the mat and soon the match was started. Len's opponent shouted her war-cry, trying to unsettle Len. But Len responded by bringing her weapon down to her side. It was the same as Tomoe's earlier move. It can't be... could it be that Len managed to see Tomoe's move? But more importantly, Len could copy another person's move? Len's opponent charged, and within an instant, Len replicated Tomoe's move. Len's move was slightly more rough, less clean but with more power involved.

Because it was less clean, i was clearly able to see how Len executed the move. A firm forward step, two continuous strikes that relied on momentum, a side step turn, three strikes that sweep from that turn, another firm step forward, three more hits, final dash step, three more hits. Within that second, there had been eleven hits. This move relied on power, speed and accuracy. The right balance between the three would result in a devasting attack that is called 'chidori'. Tomoe's version relied more on speed and accuracy, therefore less power. Len's version used more power, being less in speed and accuracy. Len's match was quickly over with a win for her.

"I'm surprised you managed to see and copy Tomoe's move."

I told her as she sat back down on the floor.

"I used to be a yankee, remember? I got into a lot of fights, and the more you fight, the better you are at seeing fast movements in order to react to them. Perhaps it's in my blood to fight, with my father being... you know."

"I see... sorry."

I was poking at an old wound with my questions. In her blood to fight. So is she implying that if it's about fighting, she can do almost anything? The referee shouted for the next person and i got to my feet.

"Looks like i'm up. Len, i'll be borrowing your move."

"Huh?"

I walk up to the mat, feeling slightly nervous. I wasn't sure i could really push my body to such an extreme state in which i could replicate such a move. No, i shouldn't doubt myself. I felt the weight of my practice naginata feeling somewhat heavy.

"Start!"

I could barely hear the referee shout as i was completely focused on my opponent. My opponent was more wary about charging in blindly. Of course, since her opponent is part of a team who has two members able to do crazy moves. Sure, if one person was able to do such a move, it would be considered incredible. But what are the chances of seeing another person do the exact same thing? Not likely, which is rather unfortunate. There are two people here able to copy the moves of others. Amatsu Len, and Kurogane Kou, me. However, unlike Len, my body isn't used to fighting. I wasn't a daughter of a Yakuza boss, nor was i a yankee. I was probably an average practitioner of kyuudo and iai-ken. Someone who just practiced for the sport. And judging by my body's condition, i probably haven't practiced for years before i died.

There was no way i could compete to be equally, or even close to the level of Len or Tomoe. My opponent seemed to take a chance, charging at me. I only barely managed to bring up my weapon to deflect the blow. While i did manage to block the move, it also showed my opponent that i was not able to do the same thing as Len and Tomoe. She went on the offensive. Parrying constantly forced me to only defend without able to counter. I was being pushed back. This wasn't looking good. I tried to force my mind to focus back onto the scene where Len and Tomoe used that move, Chidori. But not matter how many times i try to visualize it, my body would not follow it. It was not possible to follow. Not only that, but with my opponent constantly on the offensive, my mind could not focus properly.

"What are you doing, Kurogane?"

Len shouted from the sidelines. Though i didn't need Len to ask me that, i knew that i had to do something. Forget about Chidori. I'll try something else. When i parried a strike, i used this momentum to push my opponent back while jumping back myself to give some room. I switched the image in my mind to Shiki's sword move. Incorporating iai-ken moves with a naginata isn't impossible, but very hard. Still, it was something i was more used to. With my practice naginata positioned by my side the same way i would position myself in a quick draw stance, i dashed forward, using the speed and momentum from my dash, together with the twist of my body and draw of my arms to form one powerful strike. The strike connected with my opponent's own naginata, but with such a blow, my opponent's parry was thrown off, allowing me to send a second strike to the torso.

"Point!"

The referee called. I wasn't sure if it was within the rules, but it was the NPC's fault for allowing us the freedom of using any move we wanted. Apparently they thought we couldn't defeat them with their by-the-book moves. Think again. But that strike was extremely tiring for me. The second round started, and almost immediately my opponent struck forward. With my fatigue, my parry wasn't strong enough and my opponent scored a hit. This would be the first loss for my team. And it was by me.

"Game set! Draw!"

I sigh, bowing to my opponent before going back to the sidelines.

"I thought you were going to use Chidori?"

Len asked as i sat down. She offered me a drink and i took it thankfully. The next match was beginning.

"I couldn't do it. I guess i'm not use to fighting as i thought."

I don't want to get used to it, to be honest.

"Well, you have plenty of time to practice."

Len replied, turning her attention back to the match. I could only think that practice wasn't something i needed to be doing in the afterlife. However, it wouldn't be long before both of us realized that there wouldn't a lot of time left of any of us.

* * *

The match had ended with a near perfect victory of us. Mainly due to Tomoe's and Len's Chidori move, the NPCs were completely shaken, proving to be easy opponents for the SSS2 to take them out. Victory was ours and some of the members wasted no time in gloating their victory.

"What now?"

Len asked as the two of us exited the hall. I did not want to spend much time gloating, since it was a complete waste of time to do so. I took out the list and checked it.

"We still have some time till the next event. Let's go grab lunch."

"Sure."

The next event is actually Kyuudo. There is something about that sport that disturbs me. Something about my past, probably. But what about my past that was connected to kyuudo? Part of me was frightened of what i might find, but another part of me felt curious. I wanted to know about my own self, know about my past, know why i forgot everything. The two of us entered the crowded cafeteria, noting that the main Assault division had returned from their mountain training and were starting to stink up the entire cafeteria.

"... Maybe we should try Guild?"

Len suggested, cringing her nose in disgust. I could not agree more.

"Ah! Kurogane-san~! Amatsu-san~!"

A familiar voice called out from behind us, outside the cafeteria. We turned and saw Awase approach us with her usual half-asleep smile, as well as a bag filled with... food?

"Kinoji! Where were you?"

Len demanded, though Awase wasn't surprised or scared at Len's loud voice, simply munching happily on a taiyaki.

"I went to Guild to collect something. I also bought some food, see?"

Awase showed the bag of food.

"'See', my ass! Do you know how much trouble we went through without you-... food?"

Len stopped when her brain finally registered the presence of food that Awase brought along. I guess food is the only thing that would stop Len from blowing her top. That and Yuuko, i guess. Well, besides that, Awase had brought us food to eat.

"I was thinking maybe we could eat while watching some of the others complete their task."

Awase said as she continued to munch carefreely on her food. She has a point, we needed to observe how the rest of the Diversion division are doing, though i hardly think that Awase had the same reason behind mine. I seriously think she just wants to enjoy being a spectator.

"Let's go the baseball field. The baseball game should be starting."

We head over to the field where our SSS2 members were suppose to be playing against the baseball team. Note, suppose to be. When we got to the field, the three of us, or at least Len and i, were quite shocked to see our SSS2 members fighting. Amongst themselves.

"I GET TO PITCH!"

"NO! I DO!"

"YOU IDIOT! I'LL HIT FIRST!"

"GET LOST YOU LOSER!"

The boys were arguing over stupid things.

"... This is dumb."

I mutter, digging into my packet of yakisoba. It isn't ramen, but oh well. We found seats by the slop on the side of the baseball field, settling into our small make-shift meal. The boys were still arguing about their positions, and looking at the bored NPCs, i can tell that this argument has been going on for quite some time.

"Oh, if it isn't Kou. How are you guys doing?"

I turn and saw Yuki walking up to us. Yuki was have a boy's blazer simply clinging onto her shoulders, and she looked like some military dictator, or a mafia boss. And just like a mafia boss, she was followed by two SSS2 members whom i knew to be part of Fort. One was boot-wearing big sized Yuki's chosen with a face of an angry pitbull. The other was a simple document keeper, struggling to keep the mess of papers in his hands from falling all over the place.

"Yuki, what's the choice of clubs you sent me to? I can't do flower arrangement, nor do i do tea."

I stated my complaint out right to her.

"Well, you did alright, didn't you? Besides that, what's happening over there?"

Yuki looked over at the field where the boys were fighting.

"Apparently the boys are arguing about the positions they're going to take."

I reply, going back to my meal. Yuki rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Her evil version of 'thoughtfully'.

"... Alright, i'll settle this... HEY BOYS! OVER HERE!"

Yuki suddenly hollared out, making my choke slightly on my noodles.

"What the-"

"IF YOU GUYS CAN QUICKLY END THIS MATCH AND WIN, THESE THREE GIRLS WILL GIVE EACH OF YOU A KISS!"

"PFFFFFFFT! Y-YUKI? What the hell are you-"

Before i could finish my sentence, a suddenly unified war cry came from the field. Turning my attention back to the field, i saw that the SSS2 boys were already in position, having a strange dark aura radiating from each of them. Their dark eyes glittering like hungry wolves who spotted their prey. The dark menacing presence, mixing in with the aura of pure perversion had manisfested into something that has visual substance! I could literally see their duck lust!

"Well, good luck to you three."

Yuki smirked, walking off with her two 'aides'.

"Y-Yuki! You damn-"

"HOME RUN!"

"NO WAY!"

* * *

A/N: At this point, the mental image i have for Yuki is similar to Balalaika from Black Lagoon, just without the scar. About Tomoe, i wanted to have one air head character. Awase can also fit that category, but she's more of a sleepy person than an actual air-head. To this is where Tomoe steps in. There really was a female general in Japan called Gozen Tomoe. Her prowess with the naginata is the stuff of legends. Literally. Most pictures depict Tomoe using a naginata, though you can never be sure about such things these days. Chidori literally means thousand birds. This chapters shows that Kou, although able to copy what others can do, she cannot copy things she cannot see, and she cannot replicate it if her body is unable to follow.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: In the previous chapter, i wrote something about the weight of a kyuudo bow to be 20 kg. I was wrong. The bows itself aren't heavy, but the weight that you usually see associated with the bows actually represent their DRAW WEIGHT. That means, how much weight it takes to fully draw it (Bow for men need 20kg draw strength, while women need 15-18kg). I also made the same mistake in this chapter, but i realized that i didn't need to change the sentence as long as i told you what the figures meant before hand. It still makes sense.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 32_

_Unwavering Arrow_

It didn't take long for the three of us to high-tail ourselves out of that area. There was no way i was going to do what Yuki promised those guys. No way. So the three of us decided to head on over to the gymnasium, where they changed the place to have the basketball match. The match had already started by the time we reached the gymnasium. Looking at the score, it seemed that our members were being hard-pressed with a slight disadvantage in the scores. But apparently that's all we managed to see as one of the bench warmers suddenly spotted us and shouted,

"Hey! It's those girls! The ones Yuki promised!"

Looks like Yuki came by here with the same dumb promise as well, probably anticipating that we would run away from the baseball field. And just like before, we needed to get out of here. We wasted no time and ran out of there, heading towards the track field. Hopefully there would some different result. But looks like i was being naive.

"There they are!"

"I'll kill Yuki for this!"

"Just run!"

No matter where we went, it was the same story. The soccer field, the judo hall, the kendo hall, everywhere was the same result. Lust-filled boys all eyeing on us. I will definitely kill Yuki for this. Ten times, no less. We finally managed to find some safe haven at the place where the next task was set. The Kyuudo hall. It seemed that none of the guys there had gotten wind of Yuki's supposed 'prize'. There were also female practitioners here as well, so i guess such a prize would not be very tempting for these people.

"Oh, are you guys here to help out?"

One of the guys asked, walking over to us.

"A-ah... Is the match going to start?"

I ask, seeing as how the members were going about preparing for the match.

"Not really. But we don't a lot of skilled members. Only one of us actually has had proper training. Himesawa over there."

He pointed to where a small sized girl was practising with a bow taller than herself. In Kyuudo, the bows used were easily two metres long. Men used bows that weighed an average of twenty kilograms while women used bows at an average weight of fifteen. I did steal a bow from here, a men's bow to be exact, but i left it in my room. Looks like i need to borrow a bow from the NPCs, the proper way of borrowing. Still, that Himesawa person seemed somewhat familiar.

"Don't you know how to do Kyuudo?"

Awase turned to me. This news seemed to excite the SSS2 members in the hall.

"Really? You do?"

"That's awesome!"

Some of the members came swarming up to us now. Thanks a lot, Awase. This is really what we needed now.

"Okay, okay. Let's give them some room."

The first member who greeted us pushed the others back.

"You might want to change up and do some warm up exercises. You can use the changing rooms over there. Uniform and equipment are complimentary from the club."

That was nice of those NPCs to provide such things. Len, Awase and myself headed into the changing rooms to get changed. For some reason, while putting on the hakama and the breast plate, i felt a sudden wave of nostalgia. I know i practised kyuudo in my previous life, but this was something else. Something... painful.

"Kurogane?"

Len's voice made me come back to reality.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no... it's nothing."

Or at least i hope it was nothing.

"Alright, let's go."

I stepped out of the changing room and was almost immediately swarmed by the SSS2 members again. Most of them had never done the sport before, but were probably chosen because either they had an interest in it, or were given this event by Yuki. I don't recall ever participating in any competitions myself, but at least i was familiar with the sport. And thus they were all trying to get me to teach them.

"Erm... why not ask Himesawa-san? She seems free."

I point over to the small figure, and judging by her stance, i can tell that she is an expert, unlike myself who probably just did it for fun. But something inside of me told me that i probably didn't do this sport for fun. Or at least 'fun' wasn't associated with this sport for me.

"Himesawa isn't that willing to teach. Besides, Himesawa is a 'he'."

"Ah, i see-... eh?"

What was that i heard?

"... Himesawa... that cute looking girl... is a guy?"

I'm sure if i am computing this right in my head.

"Yeah. Himesawa Ryuuji. One hundred percent male."

Don't say it like it's the obvious! Cause it isn't!

"B-but... he's wearing a breastplate."

I pointed out, and plus he looks extremely cute, long hair tied into a tail, and has the body shape that is the envy of many girls!

"Ah, well, it seems like it is his 'hobby'. Dressing up as a girl, that is."

That isn't exactly the type of hobby a young male should be having. In fact, it is so wrong that i might just try to avoid it at all place. Okama are forbidden! So what, is he stuck here because he regrets not being born a female? That's just dumb! Pass on already!

"So? Can you teach us?"

The eager eyes of the SSS2 members were slightly over bearing. Okay, more than slightly.

"... Fine. But i can only teach you so much."

* * *

I had shown the other members the basics of the art of Kyuudo. The posture when shooting, the way you are suppose to handle the bow, the way you release the arrow. The complicated part of the competition, the ritualistic positions that are required the individual to form during the competitions, were left out since i wasn't too clear on those either. An inquiry from the opposing NPC team resulted in the competition just being a show-down of how close we can get to the centre of the target. Normally competitions required five members to compete. Since the rules were more or else thrown out of the window, we could get as many members to compete as we want. Likewise, the NPCs would throw in their best ten to face us. So this was more like an anything-goes match. Just beat their best archer's score and we win. This was a weird match, even by NPC standards.

"Tilt your arm slightly more- yes. That's it."

I corrected the SSS2 member who had a strange habit of having his arm tilted slightly. You aren't robin hood. Get over it. The members gathered here were quite attentive and were willing to learn, which was a good thing. However to get these guys into a proper form that's capable of matching up to our opponents is probably far from possible. Looks like either Himesawa or i would have to take this to the end. Len could help, but i'm rather worried about her agitation. She was getting quite pissed off that we haven't started to match yet. Well, i can't do anything about that.

"You need to use more strength."

I pointed out to another SSS2 member. I can't blame the girls for not being able to draw it completely. Drawing such a bow requires a lot of strength, and i can barely draw it to full length myself. I was really out of shape. Maybe i needed to exercise more, but that wasn't important for now. Now we needed to win this challenge. I am not going to help out with chore duties, especially with this club. Changing the targets, preparing and maintaining the equipment, these are small minor things that would really piss me off. Really. I will win this, no matter what.

"You're working hard."

I turn around and saw Himesawa Ryuuji standing there with a smile on his face. He really looks like a small cute girl. More feminine looking than i am. Should i be feeling jealous? Of a guy who looks and porbably acts more feminine than me? Dammit, even his voice sounds like a girl's! Hasn't his voice broke yet?

"You don't seem to like teaching others."

I said, stepping back to let the SSS2 members practice their shots.

"I have my own reasons. Most certainly you have yours."

"... Maybe."

All Ryuuji did was keep that mischievous smile on his face. Some how that cheeky smile seemed to jolt a certain memory.

"Kurogane-san, do you mind if we did a little warm-up match? You've been teaching constantly without doing a proper warm-up yourself. A small match should put you back into the feeling."

Ryuuji passed me my bow. Feeling its weight in my hands, i had to agree with what he said. I wasn't in top form and i lack the practice myself. This match might prove to be beneficial either way.

"Alright. Let's begin."

The two of us headed over to the range and it seemed that our little 'event' had garnered some attention from both SSS2 members and the NPCs.

"Five shots each, just like normal rules."

Ryuuji said as we got into our positions.

"Alright. You go first."

Ryuuji nodded and notched his first arrow. His draw was full and complete. A perfect stance. Just the mere sight of it seemed to strike the others with awe, even those with little to no experience with the sport. This stance. I know of it. I had seen that stance before. But where? Ryuuji released his arrow, and it flew all the way, hitting the target dead centre.

"Kaichuu (centre mark)!"

An NPC exclaimed in surprise. That certainly was a magnificent shot. Even i was surprised by it. I knew that the form was excellent, but the shot itself was... beyond what i had thought it would be. Powerful, elegant and without doubt.

"... Now it's your turn, Kurogane. And please, i wish to see your 'true' shot, if you may."

Ryuuji turned to me with a smile. My 'true' shot, meaning he doesn't want me to copy his style. I didn't need to, though. My body was used to drawing the bow in a certain manner that i had forgotten all about. I don't think copying another person would work any more for this. I notched the arrow, looking over at the target. From this distance, it looked no larger than the head of a pin. Breathing in deep, i drew the bow. My stance was different from Ryuuji's. His is smooth and elegant, almost like a flowing stream of water. It was hard to describe it anyway else, since that is the first image that pops to mind. For me? My stance wasn't that elegant. But i took things slowly. Holding the draw, i felt my eyes focus onto the target. My arms adjusting slightly on its on. I exhale, then release. My shot flew straight as well, then-

"... Kaichuu!"

Came the call from the other end of the range. Dead centre as well. Everyone around was surprised, that two people would get dead centre right from the first shot.

"...That form. As i thought. You ARE Kurogane Kou!"

Ryuuji laughed, having tears forming in his eyes.

"I am... so what of it?"

"I guess you don't remember me, since it was so many years ago back when we were alive."

That statement struck me like a bolt of lightning. This... this Himesawa Ryuuji. He knew me when i was still alive? This is extremely rare, and is definitely something i need to know! My past, the thing that eluded me for so long. It's coming into fast view.

"Truth be told, i can't remember anything ever since i came here. Could you perhaps... tell me more? About myself."

I explained to him. Ryuuji nodded in understanding.

"I see. Still, you've changed quite a lot since the last time we met. You're much more... happy, i guess? Well, we can talk about it later. We still have four more shots. Shouldn't keep our audience members waiting."

I turn to the crowd, who all seemed the be more interested in the match than what Ryuuji had said. While it is extremely rare to actually find someone you know from your past life, it doesn't to be of any concern to the other people standing around us. Well, it's my life, not theirs. Ryuuji notched his next shot and fired. Kaichuu again. I needed to know what he knew about me in the past. I notched my next shot and fired. Kaichuu. The next few rounds from Ryuuji were all dead centure. Unfortunately i lacked the endurance and my last shot went off slightly. So Ryuuji is the winner of this match. After the crowd dispersed and went back to practising, i approached Ryuuji who was taking a break at the back.

"So, you want to know about your past, right?"

He asked, tossing me a bottle of water.

"Yes."

"... It's a shame that you forgot. Or maybe it's a blessing. Are you sure you want to know?"

It seems that Ryuuji also knew something dark about my past. But this is where i needed to pick up my courage. I cannot go on unless i know what happened.

"Yes."

"... Okay, but you asked for it. Actually, i didn't think i would see you here in this World. I'm three years your junior, so actually meet you this World when we're about the same age is rather lucky for me. I remember it clearly. I was still eight years old. The two of us went to the same dojo for Kyuudo practice. You were always the fast learner and soon picked up the skills. Back then, you were a rather empty existence, if you'll forgive me using such a term."

"No, it's alright."

I had often thought myself as such anyway.

"... You were quite expressionless back then, so much that others avoided you. But your skills were one of the best, and it seemed that each time you drew that bow, you became more alive. Our teacher also noticed that and he encouraged you to continue. But after 'that' incident, you were forced to quit."

"Incident?"

"... Do you remember anything about your family?"

I shook my head. Only images of a women drenched in blood coming to strangle me were remaining.

"... You were a twin, Kurogane-san. That incident was when your brother died."

* * *

A/N: I based Ryuuji off a character from the rather new manga called "Kaichuu", which is about kyuudo. I also got most of my information from that, so don't quote me.


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Sorry didn't update yesterday. I was having too much fun playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. I've already started writing the second part of this story, but it isn't enough for me to post immediately after this part is done. Plus, i have my finals coming up, i need to sell my apartment, arrange with moving companies to move my boxes of things (each weighing 50 kg) back home and finish up a lot of work. Actually, i don't know how i'm still standing straight after all that. That, and it's snowing... now i want to go back home to sunny Singapore... But i know i will regret that and will wish i'm back in Canada... My mind is a fickle thing. Remember, i don't practise kyuudo, so i don't know if everything is correct.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 33_

_Placing the Bow to Rest_

"I have no idea what really happened back then, but the news spread that you and your brother were involved in an accident and only you survived. You quit the sport shortly after that. When i was in my last year of junior high, i heard that... you died. It was quite a shock for me, since i wanted to go to the same school you did. Three years after that, i died. I lost the kyuudo competition and was feeling down, didn't realize that the light had changed when i was crossing the street. Still, to think i would die at the same age you died, i guess coincidence is quite scary."

Ryuuji sighed. But what he told me seemed a little overwhelming for me at the moment. I was a twin? I had a twin brother to died before me? My chest pounded hard as the my head started to ache again.

"Are you alright?"

Ryuuji asked.

"Y-yeah... i'm fine. You said you wanted to join the same school as i did? Why?"

"Well, you went to a rather prestigious school, but other than that, i wanted to see you again."

Ryuuji smiled. See me again? Why did he want something like that?

"You know, Kurogane-san, i really looked up to you back then. I aspired to shoot like you did back then. Maybe because you had nothing else to hold you down that you were able to shoot such elegant shots. I wanted to go to the same high school to try to get you to come back, and also... i wanted to have one more match with you."

Admiration for some one like me? I would think he was wasting his time.

"Well, you already had your match. You won, didn't you?"

"... Yes... but some how it doesn't feel right. Perhaps it is because you had forgotten everything of the past. Still, it is good to see that you haven't forgotten how to use that bow."

Maybe it's because it had been ingrained so deep in me that my body just moved on its on.

"... Can you tell me... how i died?"

I ask, but Ryuuji seemed to be reluctant to say.

"... I'm prepared for the worst, Himesawa."

"... I'll tell you after the challenge match."

Ryuuji said, getting to his feet. He headed back towards the range with his head hung low. Was it something really that bad? Was it really something that he didn't want to say?

"Oi! Kurogane! The match is about to begin!"

Len shouted for me. Picking up my bow, i head back to the range. The bow was feeling somewhat heavier than before. I couldn't keep the thoughts of what Ryuuji might know out of my mind. I needed to know.

"Begin!"

The match had begun without my mind even focusing on it properly. We had every single one of our SSS2 members present to compete against the Kyuudo club's top ten. The results were quite obvious from the get-go. We were losing. So far the only ones who were actually capable of matching up with the NPCs were Ryuuji, Len, and myself. Awase was... Well, even though she looked serious and her form was good and her shots were always dead centre of the targets, she always hit the target next to her own. She was clearly unable to shoot her own target for some odd reason that was beyond me. So it was left to Ryuuji, Len and me to win this challenge.

"Kaichuu!"

As expected, Ryuuji was doing very well. Parts of my past memories were starting to come back to me. Images of a Kyuudo dojo similar to this. A nostalgic scene. A warm place. A young child, a boy, constantly pulling at my hakama, following me everywhere like a pet dog eager to please and follow. The young child beaming at me with his warm radiant smile. I see now, that child was Ryuuji. Ryuuji would always follow me like a small kid brother, trying to copy everything i did. That same kid was now a grown man, being able to shoot the way he wanted to back then. My past was slowly coming back to me. I had done Kyuudo since young, i had a twin brother who followed in our father's footsteps of doing kendo and Iai-ken. My family was quite traditional, and so while my brother was deemed as the successor and the most important person, i was allowed to do anything i wanted. I wasn't important to the family. Maybe that was why i had such an empty existence back then. Being female and the younger of the twins meant that the family didn't need me. I took up Kyuudo since the dojo was close to the house and it was there that i met Ryuuji.

"Kaichuu!"

My body was feeling slightly lighter now that my memories were returning. But they still only revealed a small portion. How did my brother die? What happened after? What happened to me?

"We're in the final round!"

Len said with some excitement in her eyes. I guess her pent up stress was getting out now. Now it was Ryuuji, Len and i to face off against the best five of the NPC team. Aren't these odds slightly unfair?

"Kurogane-san, let's finish this."

Ryuuji turned to me. I could see that young face those years back still beaming at me. I nodded to Ryuuji.

"Yeah, let's finish this."

"Kaichuu!"

Dead centre shot from Ryuuji.

"Kaichuu!"

Bulls-eye from Len.

"Kaichuu!"

I hit the centre. By now our opponents were starting to lose confidence as the three of us were constantly hitting dead centre. And soon, our opponents gave up.

"Alright! Alright! You win. Damn, what sort of club are you guys in anyway?"

The captain of the Kyuudo team asked, seeing as how his members were all dead tired. Ryuuji turned to face the captain with a smile on his face. That same cheeky smile of that kid who used to pull at my hakama.

"Us? We're simply the SSS2."

* * *

It was already dark, the SSS2 members had all left, heading to grab dinner. Awase had decided to celebrate the success of the operation and led the others to the cafeteria to throw a huge party. The 'offer' that Yuki promised to the other teams was forgotten, so that was good. News from the Big Site was that the Onsen project had already tapped into the water supply, so the Diversion was a success. Yuki had told me that she was planning to make Awase the permanent leader of the Diversion division, but i told her i still had my concerns about that decision. So until we find someone better, Awase would lead the Diversion Division. But while everyone was celebrating, i stayed behind in the empty Kyuudo dojo together with Ryuuji. After all, there was still something that i wanted to know.

"So, you remember me. That's good to know."

Ryuuji smiled, laying down on the cold floor of the dojo.

"But i can't remember everything. Still, to think that the small 'gaki' would eventually turn out to be a cross-dresser. I'm rather shocked, to be honest."

I took a seat on the floor next to him.

"Ha ha, you know that i only wanted to be more like you. You lived your life honestly, even though you were like an expressionless doll."

"... I wasn't anything to my own family. A mere shadow of my brother who could do everything perfectly. Such a high standard was placed upon me that i had to learn things faster than normal. As such, i was unable to find time to voice my own wishes. Unless i could be at that standard, i would not be recognized. Or so i thought."

Because i did not know how to voice my own opinions, i was silent and simply followed whatever was told of me to do. The standard with which i was always trying to keep up with inadvertently allowed me to essentially 'copy' what others did. The fastest way to learn for me was to see someone else do it and i would simply copy the way they would do it. However this ability was a double-edged sword. By simply copying others, i began to lose my own self. I wasn't sure on who i really was. I became a 'ghost', a 'mirror', a 'shadow'.

"As it turns out that even if i do reach that standard, it wouldn't be enough. No matter what i did, i would never be recognized, never be needed in own family."

"That's not true!"

Ryuuji suddenly sat up and grabbed my shoulders, staring straight into my eyes.

"... Please... Don't say that. You are needed, Kurogane-san."

Ryuuji began to cry, tears falling down his cheeks. He still cries the same as he did way back then. I smile, wiping his tears away.

"You're a grown man now... Ryuuji-kun. Men shouldn't cry."

"B-but Kurogane-san-"

"Call me Kou. If you call me by my surname i wouldn't be sure if you were referring to me or my brother."

Ryuuji bit his lip, but nodded.

"... Thanks, Ryuuji-kun. For needing me. It made me feel like my life wasn't wasted."

"It never was wasted, K-Kou-san."

I narrowed my eyes at him, smacking him on the head lightly.

"Don't need to put a 'san'. We've known each other since young."

"You call me 'kun'!"

"That's because you're still the same as before."

He's still the same kid as before. Still trying to follow me. But there was nothing to follow. I had no goal, had no destination. He needed to find his own path.

"... So, how did i die?"

The moment i ask that, however, Ryuuji fell silent once more. His expression darkened and he looked away.

"... How about another match?"

He asked, getting to his feet. He was avoiding my question. Was it really that painful to say? However i knew that nothing i said could change his mind. I got to my feet as well, grabbing my bow as the two of us walked over to the range.

"Same five?"

I ask.

"How about three? I'm sure you're pretty tired yourself."

"Oh? The kid now has a mouth to talk back to me."

I smirk, notching my first arrow. Releasing it and hitting the mark.

"Even after the long day, you're still good."

Ryuuji smiled, releasing his own arrow. Kaichuu.

"The same can be said for you."

I released my second arrow. Centre shot.

"I've had more practise than you."

He fired his second arrow. Dead centre.

"Don't let it get to your head."

I notch my third arrow and drew the bow.

"... Kou, you don't need to know about your past."

Ryuuji suddenly spoke up, breaking up my concentration and my arrow flew off course. I wanted to scold him for distracting me, but instead i was kept silent as he drew his last arrow. As before, his form was perfect. Basking in the moon's ray he seemed peaceful and determined. He released his last arrow, and it was dead centre.

"... I think that you're much better as you are now. I... i don't want you to turn back into that soulless person."

Ryuuji turned to face me, serious and slightly sad.

"... Ryuuji-kun..."

"I've always followed you, wanting to be more like you. I grew my hair to be like yours, i practised my technique and forms to be equal to you. When the news of your death reached me, i was devastated. I looked up to you, and you suddenly disappeared before i could reach you. I-... i felt lost."

Lost. A feeling that i could relate to. That was the path of my life. A path that had no end. Such a path was not for Ryuuji. I pulled him close into my embrace, not wanting to let him go. But i knew i must.

"K-Kou-san?"

"Ryuuji-kun... you don't need to be like me. You're already a very good man in your own right. You believed in me, you had a need for someone as pathetic as me. For that, i am forever thankful. But you mustn't tie yourself to this dream. You've reached your goal already. See? You've reached me."

"... Kou-san.."

"So you don't need to keep trying so hard. Because of me, you ended up here. Unable to live a proper life. I should have been a better role model, but i only gave you more dispair."

"It isn't true!"

Ryuuji shot back, hugging me tightly in his own embrace.

"You were everything i aspired to be... You were smart, cool and pretty! You were the one person i looked up to! So please... please don't say those words."

Ryuuji sobbed, his tears starting to soak my hakamashita (kimono that is worn with hakama) that he buried his face into. Really, just like a small kid.

"I... i always wanted to reach you. To finally reach you, and have a proper match. But that was taken away from me when you died."

"... And now you finally made it, Ryuuji. You've reached your goal."

Ryuuji smiled, nodding his head.

"Yes... i finally have."

And then... he was gone. Ryuuji disappeared in my embrace, nothing left of him but the warmth he left behind.

"Ryuu-...ji?"

The void in my arms was just... too painful. Falling to my knees, i could not help as tears began to form, falling down my cheeks. He was gone. Disappeared from this World. And i wouldn't know if he was truly happy, to reach someone like myself. I just don't know.

"... Ryuuji... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."


	34. Chapter 34

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 34_

_Crow's Song_

Part 10

The festival had been proceeding smoothly, though certain hiccups were unavoidable. To Ayato, they were simply the by-product of allowing the crazy activities of the Sekai no Seishun Sensen to continue. But since it was allowed with Kanade's approval, there was little the vice-president could do about it. As for the SSS, they themselves weren't having such a wild time that some others would think they were having. For one, Yuri suddenly decided to change their secondary event, the paint ball tournament, into a series of sketch dramas. None of them made any sense, however, and the group was definitely not prepared for the sudden switch. So the group was forced to drop all equipment that was already made ready for the paint ball tournament, and went along to 'borrow' things from other clubs in order to meet the requirements for the sketches that Yuri prepared.

No one knows why Yuri suddenly changed her mind, but no one bothered to question it. As for the leader of this bunch of crazy people, she was sitting in her chair in the club room by herself. No one knew why she wanted to be alone, but that was all she said the moment she arrived in school. Yuri had started to behave weirdly some days ago, keeping to herself, constantly in deep thought and frowning her brows to the point where wrinkles could form at any minute. Sakurai Yuri was definitely not a happy girl. The past few days she came realize something extremely important. Something so important that it completely changed her. It shook her heart, her mind, her soul. It was something that up till now she could not believe, but ever since that one day, she began to have more images, more scenes. No, it was more like she was remembering the past.

"Yuri, you're still here?"

She looked up and saw Kamiya Yuzuru step into the club room.

"Didn't i say i wanted to be alone?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's almost time for the live concert. Didn't you say you wanted to noted when it would start?"

Yuri looked at her watch, noting the time.

"So the sketches were completed?"

She asked, getting up from the chair.

"Yeah, they were done. Most of them were sort of weird, though i'm sure Hideki already told you all of that."

"..."

Hideki, her childhood friend was certainly someone who complained a lot. But no matter what he stuck it through with her. Just like before.

"Yuri?"

Yuzuru looked at her rather worryingly.

"... It's nothing. Let's go."

She grabbed her blazer and put it on as the two of them left the club room. The two of them walked in silence out of the empty club building and out into the busy courtyard of the school festival. None of the clubs from the club building had their booths there due to the location of the building itself, it was far off from the rest of the school and did not stand out much. To maximize the customers and revenue they could gather, the clubs all set their booths either out in the courtyard, or in unused rooms in the school building. For some odd reason, about eighty percent of the classes had decided to do the plain basic things. Either a haunted house, or a café. Some tried to be more creative by combining the two, but either way there weren't a lot of variations. For the SSS, all of their activities were in the gymnasium, though their eccentric and usually active leader was absent for their very first public exhibition.

"So how did the sketches go?"

Yuri asked as they passed through the corridor of the school building to take a short-cut to the gymnasium.

"They received a... warm reception."

Yuzuru hesitantly replied. Yuri did not reply to that statement, simply looking ahead and walking on without a word.

"... Yuri, you've been acting weird these days. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Yuri snapped, clearly showing that she wasn't fine at all. Yuzuru decided to leave it be as they finally reached the gymnasium. As expected, the hype of teen music star Sawashiro Asami playing in the festival had attracted not only more than ninety per cent of the students and crowd, but it also attracted some media stations. Asami's manager was also present, looking rather worried about this entire set-up. Unfortunately for him, Asami was extremely determined to do this live event to the point where she grabbed her spare guitar and smashed it on his desk when he refused. That was probably the only time anyone had seen Asami extremely angry to that point. Or maybe not. Yuri made her way squeezing through the crowd to get to the back-stage. Once behind, she was immediately greeted with excited SSS members.

"Yuri-senpai! I will do my best!"

An overly excited Yui exclaimed. Kitamura Yui, Hideki's girlfriend, had recovered and was able to return to school a week before. Her energetic energy was something that Yuri found both annoying and pleasing at the same time. Yuri patted Yui on the head like some dog.

"Good. Sawashiro-san, are you ready?"

Yuri turned to the teen music star, who was tuning her guitar.

"All ready."

Asami gave the thumbs up.

"Good. The sketches before were simply a warm-up for all of you. This is the real deal now."

Yuri looked to all of her members, all were determined and ready to begin this event.

"Yusa, are the fans in place?"

Yuri turned to her operator-in-charge. Yusa had equipped herself with an ear-piece and gave Yuri a thumbs-up as well.

"Alright. Everything is ready for this. This is the big one that will show the whole school that we aren't simply a club for fun. We mean business. All of you should know your positions. The event will start at exactly 16:00 hr. Good luck. Operation: Tornado. Start."

* * *

The lights dimmed down as Asami and the rest of the Girls Dead Monster band assembled out on stage. The murmur of excitement started to die down as the crowd waits for the start. All was silent for the moment. A tense five seconds past before the sound of tapping drum sticks could be heard. One. One, two, three. Lights on the stage suddenly turned on at the same moment the girls on stage began to play. The crowd went wild as the first song was sung. The first song, Alchemy.

"... Start the lights."

Yuri told Yusa from her position on the second floor gallery. Yusa nodded and tapped her earpiece.

"Start lights 1 to 7. Phase one."

The lights that were called on were turned on, high-lighting the stage and the band members on it. Colour tinted spotlights were also mixed in to throw in additional effects. Soon the first song came to an end, and the lights dimmed. Then the second song began and the lights slowly faded back.

"Start the fog."

"Fog machines, go."

Members back-stage started the machines and let the thick artificial fog roll out onto the stage and out over to the crowd. This was really getting the crowd pumped up as their cheers were near the deafening level. Although everything was going according to plan, the leader of the entire operation wasn't looking all too happy herself. She picked up her walkie-talkie.

"This is Yuri, what's the status of the outside?"

'"We have more guests coming in. I don't think we can fit them all in the gymnasium at this point."'

Came the reply. With Hideki posted outside with some others, she should not have to worry about anything. Okay, maybe she should worry about some things.

"Good. Keep them coming. Watch out for Naoto or the disciplinary committee."

'"Okay, but why? We didn't do anything wrong."'

"Let's just say that some things were not exactly 'sanctioned'."

'"EH?"'

Yuri turned the radio off before Hideki could say another word to her in complaint.

"I'm guess those fire-poppers weren't sanctioned by Kanade?"

Yuzuru spoke up. Yuri had kept only Yusa and Yuzuru with her up on the second floor gallery. Yusa was her operator, whereas Yuzuru was... Someone she needed to talk to.

"Kamiya-kun. Do you remember telling me about how everything seemed so familiar?"

She asked, turning her attention away from the stage.

"... Yeah, why?"

"Do you know why?"

"... Yuri-"

"Have you ever wondered about life? About whether there is a life after death? Where do we go after we die? Have you ever wondered these questions?"

Yuzuru did not know how to reply those sudden questions that Yuri was asking.

"... Let me ask you this, Kamiya-kun. Does the name 'Otonashi' mean anything to you?"

At that, Yuzuru's eyes flew wide open.

"Y-you... how-"

"As i thought."

Yuri smiled sadly. Something she didn't want to be true was confirmed.

"Yurippe-san. It's time."

Yusa told Yuri. The final song, and the crowd was all hyped up to the maximum.

"Turn on the fans."

Yuri ordered. Yusa relayed the order and within the next second, eight giant fans on the sides of the gymnasiums all turned on at the same time, blowing in a large amount of wind into the gym as well as confetti. Mixed in with the colourful confetti were the tickets to this concert that the audience were holding onto. In their excitement, the crowd did not even realize that their tickets were all blown away. The final act, and the lights dimmed as the song ended.

"... Great work everyone. Clean up and meet me later for celebrations. Kamiya-kun, mind joining me on the roof?"

That wasn't really a request, but rather an order, and Yuzuru knew it.

* * *

"So? What is it that you want to talk about?"

Yuzuru asked, though he knew what this was all about. The sky was turning dark and the festival was was already over. All that was left was the bon fire and folk dance. To be honest, Yuri didn't expect schools to still have that bon fires with folk dances around. But then again, tradition was hard to break. And so were habits.

"You know very well what it is i want to talk about."

Yuri focused her gaze down on the bonfire below. The students down below having a fun time, though Yuri could not get that same feeling into her.

"... You remembered. About 'that' place."

Yuzuru said slowly.

"Apparently you remembered as well. How long ago?"

"Shortly after you created the club."

"I see. So you've been reunited with Kanade-chan. Aren't you happy?"

Yuzuru said nothing. Yuri closed her eyes as she thought back to the time when they were all still having fun, when she didn't remember this dark past she had.

"Do you think all of this is coincidence? All of us meeting once more. Probably not. You and Kanade met because you two wanted to see each other again. Such strong emotions probably made such a wish come true."

Yuri theorized, something that she had not lost even after coming to this World.

"In this case, it was all probably of my own wish. We were having fun over there, being together and just letting it all out. I guess in my heart i secretly wanted it to continue forever."

"So our meeting is mainly because you wanted to continue from 'that' time? But we have no enemy to fight, there is nothing wrong with our lives thus far-"

"But there is a problem."

Yuri shot back. A big problem in fact.

"... I've been having these dreams. Dreams that are all too real. Dreams of 'that' World. The fight isn't over."

"The fight? ... You mean-"

"There are still others like us, continuing the fight. Am i right, Kanade-chan?"

Yuri turned her gaze to the roof-top entrance. Stepping out from the shadows, the student council president, Hanazawa Kanade walked over to Yuri and Yuzuru. Her face showed a slight hint of sadness.

"Yuri... i had always hoped that you would not remember that place."

Kanade said, shaking her head.

"It can't be helped if i remember. What's important is what is happening now. What can you tell me about the situation, Kanade-chan? What happened after we left?"

Yuri turned to Kanade, who closed her eyes for the moment.

"During the time you were unconscious after that battle, i went to check the system of the Angel Player program. I realized that the system was broken and it would be unrepairable by anyone besides the creator of the program."

Kanade explained to Yuri. Yuri nodded once she understood what was being said. Kanade then turned to Yuzuru with a rather disappointed look.

"Yuzuru... didn't you say you wanted to stay behind to make sure no one made the same mistakes?"

"E-eh? Ah, i did say that, but-"

Yuri sighed, not bothering to listen to what sorry excuse Yuzuru had to explain to Kanade.

"I'm sure that Kamiya-kun just didn't want to be left alone."

Yuri waved it off, cutting the argument of the couple that stood before her. She had taken enough of their 'love-love' in the previous World, she didn't need more of it now.

"Kanade, you're aware of the current situation in 'that' World? About those who now fight in our place?"

Kanade looked to Yuri and nodded.

"Unfortunately, i only know as much as you, since i've been having the same dreams. There seems to be more Shadows, as well as a sizeable force to fight against them."

"... I see. You've been able to see it more clearly than i can, Kanade."

Yuri sighed, turning her gaze back to the bon fire below.

"Things will not look that peaceful for us now."

"So, you really plan to go through with it once more?"

Yuzuru asked.

"... Yes. This is something that i started, it will end by my hands."


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Ah, flamers... they never cease to amaze me with their inability to read warnings and labels. It was stated in the summary that i was writing about the SSS2, so if you don't like that idea, don't click on it. Then again, i do admire their ability to come up with of the most creative ways to insult writers. There is something that i have told to many people on multiple occasions, if you don't find it interesting or you don't like to read it, close the window or page and walk away. If you don't have anything productive to say, don't say anything at all. You're wasting both my time, and your own.

Now that i have more or less awoken the hornet's nest of trolls, let's continue on.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 35_

_Unearned Happiness_

Part 11

Days were usually boring. Such days were usually the result of lazing around Fort and doing nothing. There was nothing to do, really. The strange bit about this entire situation was that the number of Shadow attacks were slowly dwindling. Most of the SSS2 members took this as a sign that things were finally turning in their favour. Of course, Yuki remained the ever sceptic who believes that there will be a return of the Shadows. The lax state of the members was inevitable with the decrease amount of enemies to fight. Now the Shadows only came twice a week at night. Their numbers were now in the single digits.

It would not even take half of the Assault forces to deal with such numbers. Even Ein had decided to relax a little, as can be observed by his loud and rowdy laughter from the cafeteria. The assault members were really being too relaxed. Yuki would not allow Fort to be the same, though you could say that her efforts were somewhat in vain. I took a patrol around the perimeter last week as per Yuki's orders and found that more than half of the machine gun nests were littered with personal things and snacks. The elite members of Fort, once the shining soldiers under Yuki, were now a bunch of laid-back slackers who can even forget to load the machine gun before firing it.

Yuki was obviously not pleased with my report, so she went off to try to shape them back in order. Needless to say, she failed rather miserably. Today, Yuki is once more off the rails. Peering over my manga, i saw Yuki throw a fit again for the third time this day. I was rather relaxed though, reading manga while lying down on the couch of the principal office.

"Gah! This is too much!"

Yuki screamed, throwing the whole bunch of reports off her table. Probably more news that the members were slacking. It had been the same for the past few weeks. Maybe that hot springs project was too effective. It had been about seven months since the Diversion division's grand revival operation, and things seemed to go on smoothly after that. Kinoji Awase was the new leader of the Diversion division, but due to her carefree nature and lack of focus on anything in particular, Yuki placed a guy named Jinnai as her 'assistant'. In other words, this 'Jinnai' person is the one keeping the division together. Awase gets good ideas from time to time, but those were rare so it was up to Jinnai to plan the operations and execute them.

"... I give up."

Yuki sighed, getting up from her chair and throwing herself onto the couch opposite mine. I tilt my gaze slightly to her, before going back to my manga. Yuki grabbed a potato chip from the packet that was on the table, which was mine by-the-way, and threw it in her mouth.

"... Do you still think about him, Kou?"

Yuki asked, licking her fingers of the salt from the chips.

"... Ryuuji? Not really."

I flip the page of my manga. It was getting interesting now. For your information, i'm reading a shounen manga, since it was what Yuuko lent me. Apparently that was all she had. Shounen manga.

"Is that so? Well, it's been several months. Though you did cry non-stop for the first two months."

Yuki sighed, reaching out for another chip.

"I don't need you to remind me. It's over now."

That's right, it had been over for some time already. Ryuuji was gone and there was nothing i could do about it. The journal logs of Nakamura Yuri, the previous leader of the SSS, had stated that it was possible to disappear once you have fulfilled your lingering regrets. A side log made by someone called 'Otonashi' stated that this World was actually a place for teenagers who lived unfulfilled or unhappy lives to try to fulfill their desires. I'm sure most of the SSS2 members had already fulfilled their desires. But they still want more. They still linger on. Perhaps it was like Yuki said before, no one wants to disappear into the unknown.

Afraid of taking that step into the beyond when they would not know what lay ahead. Afraid to lose their memories, their sense of self, their lives. As for me, i do not know what i want. I can't think of any desire i have left unfulfilled, or anything that was missing in my life. At least not yet. Thanks to Ryuuji, i remembered most of my life, except for the bit about dying. That part of my life was still missing. However, just from the parts i do remember, my character had slowly changed.

"... You're dull, you know that? You used to be more shout back at me when i stole your chips."

Yuki muttered, grabbing another chip. I'm not sure about what Yuki said, but it was true that my character did change. I did not feel as energetic as i did before. It's like my entire self was slowly changing in a way i could not control. My life, one that had no direction, no possible cause to live for, was hollow and empty. I lived for no one, not even myself. As such i would not know why i came here. My life was a blank state. I close the manga and got up from the sofa.

"Hm? What, are you going to shout at me now?"

Yuki asked in a nonchalant manner. I tossed the manga onto the table before heading for the door.

"No, i'm heading down to Big Site."

"Hmm~... i see. Going to see your lover again? Well, give him my regards."

It was pointless to say anything more to her, or to get angry or embarrassed. I close the door behind me once i got out of the office. Lover? Akira wasn't something like that. Certainly, i may harbour certain feelings about the young head of Big Site, but i wasn't sure about them. As such, i could not act upon them.

* * *

Poking my head inside, i half expected to see him sitting there. But to my dismay, he was absent from his office. This wouldn't be the first time he disappeared from his desk. The last time he did that was when Yuuko decided to come down here with a bang. And i mean a **bang**. The boss of Guild had decided to test out one of her experimental tanks. Needless to say, it didn't go very far and created a giant hole in the ground. Yuuko's entrance did more than scare away some members of Guild, it effectively shut down operations for a week.

"Oh, if it isn't Kurogane. If you're looking for Fudou-san, he went to inspect the pipe lines to the hot springs."

One of the other guys in the same office said after spotting me.

"I see."

I replied, though my words were directed to no one in particular. It was more like a response that came automatically.

"Did you bring him another bento? Sheesh! I'm so jealous of him! Having a pretty girl like you as his girlfriend!"

Another worker shouted from the back.

"From the way they act, i'd say she's more like a wife! Ha ha ha ha! It's the 'Love Wife Bento'!"

This conversation was something that i did not like to take part in, and so i left the office to head over to the pipelines. Besides, 'Love Wife'? Why in English? And no, i don't make bento for Akira. I just stopped by the cafeteria to get the tonkatsu set meal to go. Thought Akira might be hungry. He's the type that usually concentrates so much on work that he forgets to eat. The same can be said that when he relaxes, he relaxes so much that it would be nearly impossible to get him back to work though that happens rarely since Big Site is a place that needs his attention almost all of the time.

The factory had begun full operations three months back, after being set back due to several mysterious explosions. Since they were similar to the explosion back then when i was tracking down the supply leak, Yuuko just wrote it off as being the same thing. Malfunctioning equipment. Akira had his doubts though there was nothing he could say against Yuuko. No one could say anything against her.

I took the elevator from the main square to the pipelines, a level in-between the main square and the rail-car terminal above. There were other levels as well, most were digging floors used to mine for particular quality of dirt. Big Site had certainly become a well organized mining town on its own. Strange to call it a 'town' since it was located under the school. But it was certainly a town, with housing, shops, food stalls and the hot springs. If it wasn't a 'town' i don't know what is.

"Eh? Fudou-san? He's further down the tunnel."

One of the mining members replied when i asked where Akira was. I look further down the tunnel, where the tapped pipe line that supplies the onsen with water ran along the walls. This tunnel was only one of the five that brought water from the water supply under the school to the onsen below and this was the newest one. That also meant it was the least lit tunnel there is.

"... Thanks."

I continued on down the tunnel, careful about where i stepped in this damp tunnel. The muddy ground gave little traction and falling over can be an often occurrence. I can't understand why Akira wants to continue to work here. Well, not that i can understand what most guys were thinking. Carefully making my way through the tunnel, i came across a few other members who were reinforcing the pipeline, though the leaks were still very apparent.

"Dammit! Someone hand me the wrench!"

Akira's voice came from further down the tunnel. Making my way there, i saw that Akira was pressing his hand against the pipe to prevent too much water from escaping a leak. Too bad he was being drenched in process.

"Oi! Fudou-san! The repairs up ahead and bursting!"

"I'm busy here! Get Fujisaki over there!"

Akira shouted back. As always, he's too busy focusing on one problem that he doesn't realize that if the pipe ahead is burst, then it would probably be useless repairing this part further down until the leak ahead was fixed.

"Someone get me a wrench!"

Akira shouted once more though once again, he was too focused on this that he didn't realize he just sent the only other member working at the same site over to the damaged pipe up ahead. I sighed, shaking my head in dismay. Picking up the wrench from his tool box, i tapped his shoulder with it.

"Ah, finally!"

He grabbed the wrench without looking my way and tightened the loose bolts that finally closed the leak.

"Good. Now that's done i can-"

"Rest."

I interrupted his sentence, which caused him to turn in surprise.

"K-Kou? S-since when were you behind me?"

"Since just now. You've been working all night again, haven't you?"

I raise an eyebrow at him, seeing as how his eye bags were the size of tea bags. Odd way of saying it.

"Ah ha ha ha, sorry about that. Oh, is that lunch?"

He tried to change the subject again, pointing at the boxed lunch i brought.

"Yeah, but go get changed before you eat. You're dripping wet."

"Hm? It isn't so bad."

"It is bad... Go take a bath while you're at it. You smell like the mud around here."

Akira took a whiff of his own overalls, though he did not seem to smell the same thing as i did.

"I don't smell anything."

"I do. Go take a shower or you won't be getting lunch."

"Eh? That's not fair! Stingy!"

What are you, five years old?

"... I'll go wait at the office for you. Make sure you're clean."

I turn to leave, but Akira would not let me leave with the last word apparently as he shouted with my back to him:

"You're not going to join me in the bath?"

I spotted a nice large rock next to my foot. I picked it up and tested it's weight, before turning around and chucking it at Akira, hitting him square on the nose.

"Gah!"

Akira fell to the ground, causing his overalls to be even more dirtied than before.

"Now you don't have reason not to shower."

* * *

The wait for Akira to finish showering took some time, since i guess he really needed to get the dirt out. I waited in his office, sitting back in his chair and toying around with the small screw and nut he always kept in his drawer. Whenever Akira was bored, he would take this screw and nut, constantly screwing the nut then unscrewing it. More like a bad habit which i somehow or rather picked up after hanging around Akira for so long.

"Ah~a, that was sure tough to get all of the dirt out of my hair."

Akira sighed as he stepped into the office with a towl draped around his neck.

"Thanks for your hard work."

I said, putting the screw and nut onto the table as Akira sat down in the chair opposite me. I took the boxed tonkatsu lunch and handed it to him. Like a kid during Christmas, he opened the box with wide eyed anticipation and joy.

"Hmm! Tonkatsu set meal! Just what i needed for a tiring day! Itadakimasu!"

Akira wasted no time and dug into the meal. Simply sitting there and watching him eat some how felt rather soothing for me. This and maybe the Key coffee that i was drinking.

"... Sigh, you're getting food all over the place. Eat slowly and enjoy the food."

I reached out and picked the grain of rice off his cheek. As i tossed the grain away, i could hear some jeering from the others in the office.

"Why don't you eat it? Like a loving wife would?"

A particular jeer shouted over. I reached to my holster and pulled out my pistol. That made the entire room silent in that instant. I placed the pistol on the table and went back to drinking my can of Key coffee.

"... Kou, don't you think you're reacting a little too much?"

Akira asked, though he was already used to how i acted by now. During the first few weeks, he was rather worried about me since the news of Ryuuji's disappearance spread. I would admit that it really weighed heavily upon me, that i believed it to be my fault. However such feeling would eventually pass. We all have to move on sooner or later.

"I react accordingly."

I replied to Akira's statement, crushing the empty can in my hand and tossing it into the bin. My wrist watch suddenly started to blip. A call, from Yuki.

"... Are you going to answer that?"

Akira asked, finishing up his meal and washing it down with a cup of water. I pressed the answer button.

"What is it?"

_'"I need you to check on the Intelligence division. I received word that they may have found something but the transmission was cut off mid-sentence. We have been unable to establish contact with them so we need you to check it out."'_

Yuki answered back. Another job, that was quick.

"... Alright. I'm on my way."

I cut off the call and got to my feet.

"Wait, shouldn't she send someone else? Why does it always have to be you?"

Akira asked, getting to his feet as well.

"... Because i'm the only one she can trust to be vigilant."

I pick up my pistol and checked the rounds before holstering it.

"... Just be careful. I have a bad feeling about this."

I stared at Akira, slightly surprised since he rarely uses the term 'bad feeling'.

"I'll be fine. I'll see you once i'm done."

Having said that, i left his office and headed straight for the elevators in the main square. If i had known that that would be the last time Akira and i spoke in a casual environment, i would have said something else.

* * *

A/N: The 'Love Wife Bento' is reference to Azumanga Daioh, in case you're scratching your heads wondering why it sounds familiar... or not.


	36. Chapter 36

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 36_

_Beginning of the End_

It wasn't until recently that i learned of the existence of the headquarters of the Intelligence division. They had set up their main base of operations in the library, out of all places. The library was probably the most dangerous place to have any base in as it was right in the middle of the entire school. Mainly due to the increased amount of crazy activities the SSS2 members perform out of sheer boredom, the student council and disciplinary committee have stepped up their counter-measures and placed the SSS2 under heavy scrutiny.

In other words, any SSS2 member could be held up and questioned just for standing around. The diversion division was doing its best to make the student council turn the other way, but it wasn't that successful. SSS2 members were still being pulled aside and sent to a 'detention' block for ever small crime they make. With the decrease of Shadows came the increase of problems we have to deal with. As i was walking towards the library, i was stopped a total of three times by disciplinary members, demanding to know where i was going and what i was planning to do.

"I'm going to the library, is that such a bad thing?"

I glared at the latest NPC who dared to stand before me. The NPC seemed a little frightened, backing off from me.

"N-no... carry on."

I did not bother to say another word to him as i walked on. I reached the library shortly after and stepped inside. As expected, this place was crawling with NPCs, all going about their normal and usual routine. As for any sign of SSS2 members, there were none. Where did they all go?

"Ah, Kurogane. There you are."

I turn around and saw an NPC walking up to me. It wasn't unusual that the NPCs would know our names, since we were 'suppose' to be students here.

"I've been asked to pass you this."

The male student handed me a piece of paper before leaving. I looked at the piece of paper and it said on it was 'Aisle twenty one, fifth large red book from the left, Kakushita Mon(Hidden Gate)'. I did not know what that meant, but i guess i had to go look. I head further into the library, walking pass the aisles towards the back. I started to notice after the tenth aisle that there were no NPCs beyond that point. The entire back portion of the library was devoid of any movement, sound and life. The lights were dimmed considerably compared to the front portion. I reached the end of the library, the twentieth aisle. There was no aisle twenty one. I walked down the aisle, looking for any signs that would point me to a possible aisle twenty one.

The light overhead wasn't working properly, flickering its dim light in the overwhelming darkness. I noticed something odd about the wall of this back portion of the library. Unlike other walls in other rooms, the library was the only room that had multiple support columns as part of the wall. Most classrooms had two columns at most, some had no support columns at all. However this library had multiple columns for just one wall. At first i thought it was due to the size of the library, but then it did not seem to add up. The spacing between each column was about fifty centimetres in length, meaning there were about twenty columns for just this wall. Each column were painted in a different colour but in a certain order. Red, Blue, Green, then it goes back to red and repeats.

"... I see."

Now i get it. I walked all the way to the end and counted the columns from the left. The message was telling me to count the red columns from the left. That meant the fifteenth column, inversely the five column from the right. I walked over to that column and spotted a small book shelf tucked between that column and the one next to it. This was aisle twenty-one. I scanned the titles of the books and noticed that each book was named with rather interesting names.

"'Shizuna no Hebi (Calm Snake)', 'Raku no bakudan (Easy Bomb)', 'Yasumi mo nai hikikomori (Shut-in without rest)'. Odd."

I read the titles out loud, but found no book called 'Kakushita Mon'. Kakushita Mon, the hidden gate. It was hidden in more ways than one.

"... Hmm? 'Mienai taiyou (Unseen Sun)'?"

The Unseen Sun? Another odd book. But wait. Unseen. It could also mean 'hidden'. I look at the other books and found another book that caught my immediate attention.

"... 'Goemon (Name of legendary Japanese thief), Doraemon (Famous Cat anime/manga), Senmon (Subject Major), Goumon (Interrogation)'... That's a lot of 'mon' that are not related to each other in anyway."

I guess these two books are meant to be used. I reach out and pulled both books, but the books would only come out partially. Instead, i heard a click and the sound of gears as the entire book shelf raised itself off the ground, revealing a secret entrance. So this is where the intelligence division hides their base of operations. Looking around to make sure no one is watching me, i make my way inside, lowering my head to allow clearance. This tunnel was definitely built without height being a factor. What was also rather strange was that this tunnel seemed to go on for a long time.

I'm pretty sure that there was a classroom just behind that back wall of the library. So how could this tunnel exist? Separate space? Just what sort of science-fiction genre horror show did i step into? Best not to dwell on it too much. The tunnel soon ended and i found myself stepping into a large windowless hall that was filled with desks all neatly arrange and facing my direction, or rather the entrance. Shelves and filing cabinets lined the sides of the hall, each being filled by books and stacks of paper. The desks were also covered with documents and files. But there were two main problems with this place, and one very important fundamental problem.

First, the fundamental problem is where does this hall exist in the school? It cannot exist at all. But i should not be thinking about that. The more important issue at hand are the two problems. One, there isn't anyone here. The second is that everything looks to be in a mess. An attack? But how? I unholstered my pistol, turning the safety off and pulling the hammer back. I look towards the end of the hall where a small room was. Lights still coming out from that room, meaning there has to be someone still here. Of course, if they were under attack, they would have fled without leaving things settled. Looking around, i spotted that several desks had bullets markings. There definitely was a battle here.

Using the desks for cover, i slowly made my way towards the back of the hall. The deathly silence was helpful since the only noise i could hear were my own steps and breathing. Any out of the ordinary noise would alert me almost immediately. Reaching the end of the hall, i checked my back to make sure no one was behind me before checking the door of the small office. I could not hear anything from the inside. Checking the handle, i found it to be unlocked. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The small office was also in a mess, documents and files scattered all over the place. There's no one here, but there seems to be signs of a struggle. Where could the entire Intelligence division have gone to?

"... Wait a minute."

I stopped myself. If everyone had run away, why did that NPC give me that note to this entrance? Could it be that someone from the intelligence division had survived? But why direct me to here? I walk around the desk to search for more clues and there i found it. The filing cabinet in the office was slightly pushed out from the wall. Looking behind it, i spot a hole. Mustering all of the strength i could, i pulled the cabinet out from its position and took another look at the hole. Great. Another tunnel. I guess i have to go through here.

"... Nothing venture, nothing gain."

Or it could lead me straight to death. Which i would revive later on, but that would sure hurt. This tunnel was smaller in size than the last so i was forced to get on my knees and crawl through. However, just after i crawled in, my hand suddenly felt nothing. No ground. Eh?

"Oh shi-"

My momentum carried me forward and i tumbled straight down the sudden drop in the tunnel. Needless to say my terminal velocity descent was not the most graceful, nor was it the most quiet fall i have had. I'm pretty sure i had fallen a good ten metres before i crashed into something rather hard. But i didn't die.

"Ite-te-te-te..."

Sitting up while nursing the bruise on the back of my head, i looked around to see where i ended up. Apparently i fell into a second large hall, though this one seemed to be more high-tech, with giant computers all over the place. The walls were unlike the ones in the school, but rather they looked more like the walls of a carved out rock cave. Almost like Guild. Looking down, i noticed that i landed on some wooden crates that were filled with paper documents.

Picking up a piece, i saw that printed on the pieces of paper were information lists on the NPCs. From what time they wake up, to which routes they take to class. Everything was detailed in these documents, however it seemed that there are conflicting information. Most of these documents were stamped with a 'VOID' mark. Why void? It means these documents are invalid, right? These were quite important documents and yet to label them as invalid was slightly odd. The sound of footsteps alerted me.

I looked around for my pistol and found it lying half buried under some documents. I reached for it and got to my feet. Crouching low, i took cover behind one of the giant server machines. The footsteps were becoming louder as whoever was making those steps came closer and closer. Readying my pistol, i could hear my own heart beat beating louder and louder. Then, the footsteps stopped. Why did it stop? Maybe i should check. But if that person is just out there, and is an enemy, what should i do? Getting the element of surprise would be advantageous, that's for sure. On the count of three. One, two-

"Three!"

I turn around the corner, pointing my pistol at-

"... There's no one here?"

That can't be right. Where could they-

"Ahh!"

A sudden kick appeared from my blind spot to my left, knocking my pistol out of my hand and sent my hands up into the air. But using this momentum, i jumped back, drawing my second pistol and bringing it to my opponent who decided to make his appearance. A tall guy stepped out from the corner, silently observing me. Mainly because of the dimly lit room, i could hardly make out anything other than that. Was he an enemy? Or a friend?

"Who are you? Are you part of the SSS2?"

I demanded, steadying my aim at him.

"..."

He only stared in silence, and that was quite unnerving for me. The two of us stared at each other in silence, none of us making a single move. My eyes were slowly adjusting to dimness of the room, and i now noticed that he was wearing the SSS2 uniform. But why attack me? Well, technically, i was the one who draw my weapon first.

"... So, you are part of the SSS2. Where are the other members? Were you the one who sent me that note?"

I ask, still not quite able to trust him. Though i may be the one provoking, his lack of answers for my questions only made me even more suspicious. NPCs were not known to act outside their set boundaries, but who knows what could happen. It was for this type of reasoning that Yuki came to rely on me most of the time. I did not trust anything outright. I needed to collect facts and information before i make any judgement. In my past life, i would have accepted anything as it was. I wouldn't question anything given to me, nor try to pursue anything i wanted. A doll-like existence. An empty existence. But my time here and the experiences i've had while i had amnesia had changed me. It did not change me a lot, but it made me more wary and cautious of things.

"... Not able to answer?"

The man still did not move, nor say anything. This was getting nerve-wrecking.

"Okay, stop!"

A voice shouted out, making me turn. Stepping out from the shadows was a familiar face.

"Testarossa?"

I blinked a couple of times as the girl walked over to me. Testarossa Iris, the self-proclaimed 'super maniac stalker' of Takamachi Yukari.

"Kurogane, i would like it if you could put away your weapon. Pointing it at my boss is not a very good way to begin a peaceful conversation."

Iris narrowed her eyes at me. Her boss? That would mean... this guy is the mysterious leader of the intelligence division? I still felt slightly unsure, but i holstered my weapon. Iris picked up my other pistol and turned the safety back on before handing it to me.

"Try not to drop it again. There are a lot of sensitive equipment down here."

Iris warned. I looked over to the leader of the intelligence division, only to find that he disappeared.

"Don't worry about him. He tends to disappear from time to time. Anyway, it's good you got my message. We need your help. Follow me."

Iris led me down the cavern of computers towards the end where a large gathering of SSS2 members were. They were all arming themselves with guns and moving through documents. It seemed to me like there was going to be some large operation going to happen. Iris led me to a large table where several other members were mulling over one large map that had several scribbles and circles on it.

"Ah, Iris-chan, you're back. Is that the back-up?"

One of the members turned to look at me.

"This is Kurogane Kou."

"Ah, i've heard of you. Yuki's elite, right?"

I wouldn't really call myself that. Still, i needed to know what was going on.

"Yuki sent me here because your message was cut in the middle and you said there was some emergency. Care to fill me in before i help out with anything?"

I asked them. Most of them nodded in agreement, then turned to Iris, probably wanting her to explain.

"We may have uncovered where Tetsuya is."

Iris said, taking out a folder and handing it to me. Upon opening it, my eyes immediately spotted the photo that was clipped with the rest of the documents inside. The photo was indeed Tetsuya. But what was disturbing about the picture is that he was dressed in the uniform of the NPCs.

"... He's been converted?"

I asked, not liking this information one bit.

"We cannot confirm that. That picture was taken a few weeks ago by accident when one of our members dropped his camera, and we poured all of our resources into locating him. If he has been turned, he should be wondering around the school like a mindless zombie. However we have yet to find him, until yesterday. One of our members spotted him with several of NPCs heading for the student council room. As far as we know, NPCs don't just become student council members out of a blue. There is the elections that is held once a year, and we always keep track of who's in it and who isn't."

Iris pointed on the map at student complex B. The building that was right in the middle of the entire campus. Yuki had banned all members from entering that building recently due to the increased arrests made by the student council. That building was the heart of enemy territory and it would be foolish to let our members just to stroll in only to get captured.

"Just as we were going to prepare for an infiltration operation, NPCs suddenly came bursting through into our base. They managed to get five of our members while the rest of us escaped down here."

"NPCs? But how?"

This was weird. Not just 'normal' weird, but this was extremely weird in a very worryingly manner. NPCs able to act outside their boundaries?

"We're not sure. But because of it, we were forced to abandon the surface base and had to come down here. Recently, the NPCs have been acting extremely weird. They aren't acting the way they should be... rather they appear more..."

"Human?"

I finished Iris's sentence. She nodded, handing me two separate pieces of documents.

"These two reports are about the same NPC. They list his likes, his dislikes, his routes along the corridor, when he fall asleep and such."

"But they're both very different..."

"Exactly. The NPCs are changing, and we don't know why. We need to infiltrate school complex B to find out, as well as infiltrate the student council room. Any and all information we can gather must be extracted and brought back here."

"Thus this massive operation. Alright, i'll help."

There wasn't much i could do anyway.

"I should get Yuki-"

"No. Our leader isn't exactly wanting Yuki to know about this until he is absolutely sure."

Iris stopped me from calling Yuki. Well, i guess their leader has a point. That, and i also know that the leader of the intelligence division and Yuki often butt heads. I'm guessing he wants to 'shove it in her face' when the time comes.

"We're playing it safe, our leader doesn't want to lose any more members than we have to. This is the plan for Operation: Watchdog. Alpha team will infiltrate the dorm rooms of the student council members. Takakichi, you're leading this team."

Iris looked to one of members standing around the table.

"Understood. How much time do we have?"

"We have contacted the diversion division and they can give us a window of an hour. This is the file containing all known rooms of the council members. Best course of action is to hit every single room simultaneously. Spread your members carefully."

Iris warned, handing him a folder.

"Next is Beta team. Tomonori, you'll lead your team to infiltrate school complex B from the North side. Take the stairs to the second floor and secure it."

"Alright."

"Charlie team will be led by Terada. You will infiltrate the complex from the East end. Find the discipline committee room and get in to free our members."

"And if we face any opposition?"

"Take them out. We have fire clearance on any and all NPCs who stand in our way."

"Wha- wait a minute, Testarossa. Who gave such clearance?"

I asked. Firing on NPCs was always forbidden due to the consequences of what may happen. We would be enemies of this World and may cause unwanted disruptions.

"The NPCs are acting outside their boundaries, and if we don't take them out, they'll take us out. And i'm the one running this operation. Do you have a problem with that, Kurogane?"

Iris glared at me. Seeing as how she was giving off such a murderous aura, i guess i had to go with it.

"... Fine. So? Where am i at?"

"You're running with me. I'll be heading Delta team straight from the South point. We'll head straight for the third floor student council room. All of you, take light arms only. This is a 'get-in get-out' operation. No need trying to be heroes. Shoot only when necessary. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

The entire room shouted in unison.

"Good. We'll start at exactly 1800 hour. Time limit is one hour. Operation: Watchdog, start!"

* * *

The time was six in the evening. The loud sounds coming from the cafeteria and the track field signalled us to move out. Iris nodded to me and motioned the squad to move up. Getting up from our spot around the corner of the building, we stormed into the building. Iris's group consisted of twelve individuals, myself and Iris included. While others were armed with rifles and machine guns, i only had my pistols to rely on, since that was all i brought. Iris would have lent me one rifle, but the leader of the intelligence division had taken up the rest of the weapons together with the rest of the intelligence division to go out on another operation.

No one knows what the other operation is, but it certainly seemed dangerous if he was taking all of the heavy weaponry. However the light arms used in this operation suited us well. We were to get in, find any relevant data and get out. At this time, the number of students left were minimal. Majority of the discipline and student committee members should be out and making sure that the clubs are running smoothly and that no one loiters around needlessly. In other words, complex B should have the least number of NPCs left. But that did not mean there were none. Several students were still around, but we ignored them and moved on. They also ignored our actions, simply looking at us and probably thinking we were doing some sort of show.

We took the South staircase, running up to the third floor without pause. Iris stopped at the top of the stairs, peering around the corner to make sure no one was there, before signalling the others to move up. Four members took the lead and crouched low as they hurried towards the student council room. Taking up positions at the door, they signalled the rest of us. Iris acknowledged the signal and motioned us to move up. The rest of the squad hurried over. Taking up position behind the four, Iris nodded to the one closest to the door. Testing the knob lightly, he opened it and allowed two members to rush in before he went in himself. So far no gun shots. That's good. Iris motioned the rest of us to follow. Stepping inside the student council room, what we found was nothing out of the ordinary. Desks lined up like a conference table, shelves with books and files. Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet.

"Alright, search everything. We don't need to be neat. Tear it all down if you have to. Minamoto, Saihara, two of you guard the entrance. Alert us to any changes in the hallway."

Iris issued orders and the the group went ahead with their jobs. Quite efficient for just being an intelligence unit. They were on par with Kyou's own personal assault unit in their efficiency. That was saying quite a bit. Kyou, being the leader of the main assault group in the Assault division, took in and personally trained a bunch of her very own elite members. Kind of like Yuki's chosen elites, but on a lower level. Yuki, after all, has first dibs on selection and if there is one thing the Queen of Fort does best, it is taking what she wants.

Yuki has a keen eye for who can be useful and who isn't, which is why she is in-charge of the recruits, and it is why the elites of Fort, Yuki's chosen, are considered the best of the best. Yuki most keeps her elites in Fort, occasionally letting us go to help other divisions. It could be said that we were sent out to 'keep an eye' on others. Watch dogs of Yuki. However... I did not swear any oath of loyalty to Yuki. I may be Yuki's closest, and well trusted friend, but there were certain things that Yuki did that just would not sit well with me. So i'm counting on this operation to find what it needs, and convince Yuki to take action rather than simply sitting back to wait for something to happen. I spotted something on one of the desk. Picking it up, i noticed that a map was attached. Some how, this map was looking extremely familiar.

_'"Charile team to Delta team. Come in, Delta team."'_

Iris's walkie-talkie suddenly shouted out.

"This is Delta team. Report."

_'"We have freed our members, but found no disciplinary members. One of the captives said that the NPCs are planning to attack Big Site."'_

"What?"

That struck me cold the moment i heard that. Big Site? I look at the map once more, and realized that this was the map of Big Site. I looked at the other pieces of documents and suddenly my heart stopped. Everything felt cold as my eyes came across this document.

"N-no... this can't be."

The document, including a picture, was a full report of Fudou Akira. The leader of Big Site.

"... Akira!"

Dropping the documents, i ran out of there before Iris could stop me. There was no way i could stop right now. Not Akira. Not him. I pressed the communications button on my watch, connecting me straight to Yuki.

_'"Kou? What is it?"'_

"Akira is in danger! You need to send reinforcements to Big Site!"

_'"Huh? I don't get what you're talking about-"'_

"There's no time! Just do it!"

_'"... Fine. I'll send any available members to Big Site."'_

I cut the transmission as i jumped the entire flight of stairs. Landing hard, i felt something crack, but did not care. I ran as hard as i could. There was no way i was going to let Big Site fall. No way i was going to lose Akira.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Thanks for your reviews, and thanks to my faithful readers for cheering me up. You guys are really great, you know? But don't worry, I've faced my fair share of flamers. I did not start writing out at this quality, and my stories back then were really horrible. I have improved, but i am not where near perfect, nor even close to the level of writing that i can be satisfied with. Well, practice makes perfect.

There are 39 chapters in total for this first half. So two more to go! Pretty long for the first half of a story... i guess the second half will be toned down to be shorter.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 37_

_Battle of Big Site_

I rushed over to Complex A, where i had parked my bike in a hidden shed. The engine roared to life as i turned the ignition on. Revving the engine, i sped off to the nearest tunnel entrance to the underground tunnels. The nearest tunnel was behind the tool shed by the track field. Riding my bike down onto the field, several teachers spotted me and tried to stop me. But i wouldn't be stopped. Weaving in and out of the teachers, i raced over to the shed and spotted the tunnel entrance. This tunnel was at an extremely steep angle, and was rarely used by any members. But this wasn't the time to be scared.

Driving the bike into the tunnel, the machine, and by extension myself, went for a literal free-fall for five whole seconds before the bike hit dirt as the tunnel finally became a gradual slope. The impact nearly threw me off the bike, but i somehow managed to stay on. Driving down, the tunnel connected with the main tunnel and i headed straight towards Big Site. I could see several groups of armed SSS2 members heading the same way. Yuki really did send members. More like she actually mobilized all divisions. Members of Fort, Yuki's chosen, Assault division, and any available diversion division members, all headed towards Big Site.

"Oi! Kurogane!"

I stopped upon hearing my name. Looking over my shoulder, i spotted Len running up to me from behind. She was carrying additional weapons and ammunition, as well as my own gear i left behind.

"Len, you were called?"

"More or less. What's happening?"

She asked, handing me my rifle and bag of ammunition.

"Get on, i'll explain on the way."

Len looked slightly sceptical, but got on nonetheless. I gunned the engines and sped down the tunnel.

"The NPCs are what?"

Len cried in surprise once i told her what i found.

"B-but how do you know that they're going to attack now?"

"Because they left complex B completely empty! And they weren't anywhere on school grounds, which means they are already starting a full assault!"

I sped down the tunnel all the way, pushing my machine as hard as it can go. It wasn't long before we could hear gun shots in the distance, with Guild members escaping in the opposite direction.

"Looks like we're going to go in hot! Load your weapons!"

I shouted to Len, who was probably one step ahead of me as she brought out her rifle before i could even finish my sentence. We reached the rail-car terminal of Big Site where a bunch of Guild members were trying to create a resistance, but with no apparent success. Their opponents were NPCs, but the NPCs were far normal. Their hands had changed to either a blade or a large gun barrel. Was this some cyborg movie? Guild members being shot at, impaled or being ripped apart. This was some sort of nightmare. It has to be.

"You damn NPCs... DIE!"

Len fired her rifle constantly, squaring hits though some of the NPCs had an invisible shield around them that curved the bullets and deflected them away. Those hit by the bullets were only down for a few moment before reviving. Their regeneration was ten times faster than us, making this battle nearly impossible. But i will not stop.

"Len! Jump!"

"Huh?"

Before Len could ask, i swerved the bike and jumped off, letting the bike crash into the nearest NPC. The bike crushed the NPCs under its weight. As i hit the dirt, i rolled to lessen the impact before scrambling to my feet. This was where the fight begins. Unslinging my rifle, i took aim at the NPC crushed under my bike, pointing my gun at his head.

"You wouldn't dare."

He spat at me.

"... Try me."

I pulled the trigger and the bullet entered his head. As expected, the wound was starting to heal.

"... As if i'll let you!"

I drew my sword, stabbing it into the wound. The moment i did that, a strange string of 'ones' and 'zeroes' streamed out from the NPC's wound and the NPC slowly disappeared. Almost the same way as a Shadow. I turned to Len, who witnessed the entire scene and seemed to have understood the situation. While bullets can harm them if they weren't deflecting them, the only way to finish them in one hit is to use melee weapons.

"Using melee weapons on them before they can regenerate can finish them off!"

Len shouted to the rest of the Guild members. A huge cry emerged as they found new vigour and started to fight back with greater ferocity. By now, the reinforcements from Yuki had arrived and were taking the front-lines.

"We came from orders from Yuki to lend aid to Kurogane Kou. We have a total of two hundred members here, ready to fight. Another two hundred are en route. We are at your command."

One of Yuki's chosen came up to me to report.

"The situation is this. The NPCs have gone berserk and are attacking Big Site with weapons and defences unknown to us. However it is possible to defeat them by wounding them and using a sword or some other melee weapon to finish them off. As it stands, there is only one way down to Big Site, and that is through these elevators. The enemy has probably already infiltrated Big Site and has begun attack en mass."

I explained to the new comer, who seemed to have understood the situation quite readily.

"Alright. I'll get men down as soon as we can establish a perimeter."

"That would be too late for those below. I'll take fifty members down with me. Cover us while we head for the elevators."

"Understood."

He waved over at a group, and they came over. Kyou was one of them. Strange how one of Yuki's chosen has more power than the leader of the assault division's front assault unit.

"These are the best we have with us. Good luck."

As he headed off to lead the rest, i turn to Len and Kyou. Others in the group that i recognize, Sakamoto Shiki, Sakagami Tomoyo, Asakura Shion, and Takamachi Yukari. Each of them were certainly strong in a fight, but this was an enemy they weren't used to fighting. These were NPCs. They looked human, moved like humans, talked like humans and were able to think and execute strategies like humans. They were on a completely different level than Shadows.

"Don't worry about us. We understand the situation."

Kyou said. It wasn't so much the situation itself, but the gravity of it. No matter, i need to find Akira. That was all.

"We all cannot fit in one elevator. Since there are five there, we will split into groups of ten."

While the rest of the SSS2 members tried to push back the NPCs in the rail-car terminal, i led my group towards the elevators. Splitting into groups of ten, the five different elevators started to head below at an excruciating slow pace.

"Calm down, Kurogane. You're making the rest rather nervous."

Yukari said, placing a hand on my shoulder to reassure me. You're not exactly the right person for that job, though. Still, she did help ease my fears. If only slightly. The elevators finally went through the ground, descending straight into a scene straight out from my nightmare. The entire Big Site was under attack. Screams echoing within the large cavern as Guild members were cut down by the NPCs who showed no sign of stopping in their rampage.

Explosions and fires erupted all over the place. I did not want to see this, but Akira was down here. I needed to find him and get him to safety. The NPCs were aiming for the main leaders of Guild. Yuuko was not in danger as she was probably the most dangerous person in the SSS2. Even the NPCs knew that enough to avoid her. But Akira wasn't like Yuuko. He was kind, gentle and caring. He always looked out for others, even myself. But it is because of that he would easily forget to take care of himself. A rocket suddenly flew up towards us, impacting against the elevator next to us. The elevator burst into flames and plummeted to the ground. The NPCs have spotted us.

"Incoming!"

Someone shouted. Looking out, i saw a second rocket aiming for us. This can't be the end. I will not die before finding Akira and bringing him to safety.

"Move."

Asakura's voice made me turn. The sniper brought out her large anti-tank rifle and shoved the barrel out of the grate of the elevator door. She took aim and fired. The shot pierced the missile, causing it to explode before harming us. It's good that she's on our side. The elevators safely reached the bottom and the gates opened, allowing us to get out and into the square.

"Kyou! Get your men to secure the square!"

I shouted. Kyou nodded and led her group through the main plaza of Big Site.

"Tomoyo, Shiki, secure the factories and make sure that all NPCs are eliminated or driven back!"

"Got it!"

The two of them took the back route to the factories. If they went with Kyou, they would be held up in the plaza till Kyou can clear that area. It would take up time we do not have.

"What about us?"

Yukari asked.

"Takamachi, you'll go around the housing area. Get anyone you can find to safety. Once the housing area is secure, go around the back of the plaza and support Kyou."

"Alright."

"What about me?"

Len ask as Yukari left with her group. Yukari was extremely strong so she was someone i can depend on to get the job done. Just hope she doesn't destroy everything along the way.

"Len, you're with me. We're going to find Akira. Knowing him, he would be up along the mine shafts. Asakura-san, take your snipers up to the upper levels of the mines and provide support."

The silent sniper nodded and left with her snipers. I led Len and five others towards the stairs that led to the mines. The elevators were out of the question with the NPCs shooting rockets all over the place. As we reached the bottom of the stairs, NPCs appeared, brandishing bladed arms.

"Tch... I don't have time for this!"

I charged forward, firing full burst rounds from my rifle. I took down the first NPC before the rest brought up their shields.

"Ha ha ha ha! It's useless! Give it up! Your weapons are of no use-BGAH!"

I shut the noisy NPC with a whack from my rifle, sending him flying off into the distance. Home run. Even if bullets don't work, this rifle can still be used as a weapon. Tossing aside the rifle, i drew my sword quickly, slicing through the next NPC, twisting my body and cutting through another before they could react. One of the NPCs tried to stab me with his blades, but i ducked, kicking upwards. My boot contacted with his arm, throwing him backwards and giving me the chance to strike. Slicing upwards, i cut the NPC straight in the middle.

Melee weapons were very effective against the NPCs as it made them disappear after i cut through them. However it was hard to get in close, especially when the NPCs were capable of switching their blades to guns. Another part is the psychological damage that our members would get from fighting NPCs. Fighting Shadows could easily be justified in our minds by saying 'they aren't human'. The same can be said for NPCs, but because they look human, they think and act like humans that we are unable to push the idea that they might be humans. There is also the fact that quite a number of NPCs were once part of the SSS2, transformed into NPCs unwillingly and now fight against their former comrades. This was a losing battle from the start. Even if we do manage to drive the NPCs back, no one will escape this battle unscathed. We will all be scarred. Mentally and emotionally more so than physically.

"... Let's go."

I muttered, not wanting to see the remains of the NPCs disappear. It reminded me too strongly of death. We ran up the stairs, cutting down any NPC who stood before us.

"Almost there!"

I panted after i kicked an NPC off the side of the stairs. Just one more flight. I ran up the last flight, unaware of an NPC waiting around the corner. I only managed to realize it when it was too late. The NPC raising his blade, ready to strike straight at me-

"Kou!"

Akira suddenly appeared, driving a katana straight into the NPC. The force pushed the NPC off the side of the railing, plummeting down to the ground below. I was slightly stunned, seeing Akira appear out from nowhere.

"Ha... are you alright, Kou?"

Akira asked, slightly out of breath and sheathing his sword. I did not know why, but feeling extremely glad and relieved made me rush over to him and hugging him tightly.

"Wa- K-Kou?"

"Don't worry me so much... baka."

"Aha ha ha... sorry about that. But it's okay now."

Akira smiled, stroking my head gently. I did not like being treated like a kid, but i could not bring myself to hate it when he does it. Feeling his warmth, smelling his scent. This was something that made me feel relaxed. I did not want to let go, not matter what. I suddenly noticed something. His katana.

"Akira... this is."

I point to his sword.

"Ah, this? Musashi made it for me. Nice, isn't it? Said it was part of a pair, but he didn't tell me where the other sword was."

Akira scratched his head as he took the sword from his belt. That sword. It was the same as mine.

"It has the character 'Hikari (light)' on the edge. Don't know why he gave it to me though, since i don't really know how to use a sword."

So Musashi gave the second half to Akira. Naming it after Akira as well was a little overboard, but somehow it made me feel happy.

"Oh yeah, Gen also dropped by before the attack. He said that he finally completed your 'personalized' weapon. I left it in my office, so it's a little far from here."

Akira said. I released my hug, wiping away my tears as i steeled myself. I had found Akira, and now needed to get him out of here. But the NPCs still had their eyes on the elevators.

"Alright, let's go down to the main plaza. We'll meet up with Kyou and the others. Once we clear the plaza, we'll head to your office. There is an emergency elevator there, am i right?"

I ask Akira who nodded.

"Yes, there is, but it hasn't been used in a long time. We'll need to go activate the emergency generators down in the factory sector."

"That is if they haven't been destroyed yet."

Len muttered.

"Those generators are well protected and hidden. Nothing can get to them unless you use one of Boss's exploding tanks."

Akira explained.

"Well, we'll get nothing done if we just sit around. Let's go."

* * *

We hurried on down to the plaza where a large battle was taking place. With the SSS2 members forcing their way into the main plaza, it seemed that we were winning. Yukari had cleared the housing sector and had led her members to the plaza to aid with the liberation of the plaza. Several reinforcements from above tried to make their way down but were met with the same fate as before. The NPCs had lined their rockets to fire at the elevators, thus our reinforcements were cut short. Several new reinforcements did the unthinkable, lowering ropes from the top of the elevator shafts and sliding down the ropes. Although they made smaller targets for the NPCs, they were not completely safe as the NPCs had snipers of their own, picking off the slower members before they got halfway down the ropes. Still, at least there were reinforcements.

"We need to evacuate every non-combatant out through the emergency elevator. I have no idea what the NPCs are doing, but it seems they are capturing any fallen members. We can only fear the worst."

Kyou said once we joined up with her in the main plaza.

"Perhaps to convert them."

Len suggested. Sounds like religion.

"Alright, let's do our best to push towards the main office."

Kyou and her group of assault members were better at using guns, and so they opened fire over the barricades, keeping the NPCs from doing anything in return. Using this opportunity, I led Len and the others who were better at close quarters combat straight into the enemy lines.

"**GA HA HA HA HA! FACE MY RAGING HEART AND DIE!**"

Yukari's hysterical laughter was somewhat frightening as she swung her giant blade with so much ease and strength that anything caught in her reach was cut down immediately like a bladed hurricane. Not even the walls were able to stop her. The clash of swords and blades sounded throughout the battlefield as we met the enemy head-on. I brought my sword down on the enemy, but he parried the blow. Using my foot, i kicked him in the abdomen, forcing him to flinch and stagger backwards. Tilting my blade, i rushed at him and sliced him cleanly from the side.

Wasting no time, i charged at the next NPC, who changed his blades to a cannon in order to shoot at my face. A loud bang echoed through the cavern and the NPC's cannon was destroyed with an anti-tank round. Silently thanking Shion and her snipers, i used this opportunity, jumping up and bringing the full weight of the sword down. My blade went cleanly through and the NPC slowly disappeared. The ones used to close quarters combat were mainly part of Yuki's chosen, thus we were rather quick and efficient. We spent no more than five seconds with each opponent, cutting down those who stood before us. We were indeed very much like how others refer to us. Dogs of Yuki.

Yuki had once commented about that title. She said that we weren't 'dogs' in any way. No, we were fiercer, independent individuals. We moved with speed, elegance and strength. We weren't the 'dogs' of Yuki. No, Yuki had called us by another name. She called us her 'Wolves'. And like wolves we fought, cutting down countless number of enemies. This is how the elite fight. This is the true nature of those determined to survive. An unstoppable wave. We were unlike those who refused to fight against the NPCs. We cared little for honour, fairness or sanity. The term 'holding-back' did not exist for us. We were determined to survive and were more than capable to ensure that we did. I kicked the motionless body away, sliding my blade out from the wound. The body disappeared as it hit the ground. Wiping the blood from my cheek, i looked over to see that my group were finishing off the remainder of the NPCs. For now, the plaza was secured.

"... We're done here. Len, lead half of our group to the factory and turn on the generator. Meet up with Shiki and Tomoyo and make sure that the factory is secured."

I told Len, who nodded and took half the group towards the factories. Kyou walked over to me, her face a mix of awe and fear.

"I've got to hand to you, Kurogane. Being part of Yuki's chosen certainly means something."

Kyou said, which i guess she meant that to be part of Yuki's chosen, you must be able to ignore any form of morality.

"Erm... you're missing that..."

Kyou pointed to her right cheek. She must mean my own cheek. I wiped my cheek of the blood, my glove now stained red from all of the blood i wiped from my face. Akira came up with the non-combatants behind and upon seeing my entire body covered with the blood of the NPCs, he was simply speechless and in shock.

"... Let's move the non-combatants."

I quietly said, not wanting to look at Akira in the eyes. Kyou nodded in agreement and issued orders to the rest.

"Kou... are-... are you alright?"

Akira asked, cautiously walking up to me. I could still sense that he was frightened. Of the blood, of me. I did not blame him. I was, after all, an empty existence. I did not feel sad, shock, fear or even happiness the same way as others did. You might even label me as a psychopath. Being able to kill these NPCs so easily without even batting an eye. Not a smile, not a frown. Emotionless, cold and efficient killer. Akira reached out for me, but i pulled my arm away.

"I'm fine. Let's head to the elevator."

Akira should not be tainted by this blood, by my blood. The Worlds that we live in differ too greatly. He, who walked in the light with smiles and laughter. I, who stood still in the dark covered in blood. Walking away, i simply chose to ignore any protests that Akira would make, though he made none. Some how that made me slightly lonely. My watched beeped as a transmission came in.

"This is Kurogane."

_'"Kurogane, we've gotten the power back on. You're free to get the non-combatants out."'_

Len replied through the receiver.

"Alright. Get to the elevators once the factory is cleared."

_'"Got it."'_

Turning off the transmission, i turn to Kyou.

"We have to hurry up. No doubt the NPCs would have heard the generators go off and will head for the office as well."

"I'll try to move them along quickly."

Kyou answered back.

"Takamachi, we need to clear the way to the office."

"On it. What about yourself?"

Yukari asked. I swung my blade down with one strong swing, shaking the blood off its edge.

"I'll cover the rear."

In truth, i needed a slight break. Fighting can take my mind of the things i've done. Though i may not feel much for killing NPCs, it still proved to take a toll on my mind. The blood that stained my uniform can never be washed free. My hands soaked with the blood that looked and felt like human blood. Unconsciously, i brought my blood soaked fingers to my lips, licking the red liquid off the tips of my fingers. A ghastly taste, but some what enticing at the same time.

"!"

I took my fingers away from my mouth. What was i thinking? The taste still lingered on the tip of my tongue. I was starting to lose myself. This was not good. Not good at all. An existence that is empty, hollow, can be easily influenced by anything. I had no self in the beginning, but slowly began to build one with the help of us. Through my experiences and relationships i shared with the members here, i slowly began to create my own identity. But that was a shallow, fragile and false shell. Easily shattered, easily manipulated. But even though it may be fragile and a mere façade, it was still something i did not want to lose.

"... Akira..."

I called out his name, wanting to feel his warmth, wanting to hear his voice. I wanted to hear him reassure me that everything would be alright. I wanted to have him by my side. But he wasn't here. He was moving along with the rest of the non-combatants towards the emergency elevator. My grip on my sword tightened. I must steel myself. I look around and spotted no sign of any enemy in the area. The rear was clear. For now. I checked my weapons. I've been using my katana for the most part of the battle, so my ammunition reserves were still full. The weight from the extra ammunition would only slow me down. I took the ammunition bag and placed it on the ground next to a pile of rubble. I'll come back for it when things were more settled down. I guess i should catch up with the rest now.

* * *

A/N: I've written this without any proper order and i wasn't really thinking. To make this clear on how the NPCs can be defeated, i've written down this list.

1) With lots of bullets (they can regenerate on the spot, but after about two clips from a rifle, they should go down), or anti-material/anti-tank round to the head (most snipers in the assault division use anti-material rounds, and Shion uses anti-tank rounds, both are the same thing but Shion uses larger rounds, so i made a distinction for her)

2) Melee weapons are made using a large amount of essence and special dirt, therefore making them extremely effective against the NPCs (but the shields of the NPCs can still deflect most strikes, not to mention that the NPCs are stronger at close quarters combat than the SSS2 members)

3) Explosions


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Thanks for your reviews and thanks a whole bunch to those who cheered me up. It really made my day. I had said before that I wasn't accepting anymore characters. If you submit your character now, the chances of your character making an appearance would be low (would not be zero, but they may not appear at all). If you still wish to submit your characters to me, please do so earlier in order to have a higher chance of your characters making an appearance in the second half.

* * *

_Angel Beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Chapter 38_

_Never Let Go_

As i walk along the path towards the office, my mind became slightly muddled. Certain intrusive thoughts were disrupting my focus. The same bloodied scene from before kept flashing in my mind. It had been a long while since these thoughts kept disturbing me, so why now? Perhaps the back-lash from the constant battles were finally taking a toll on me. Shaking off the thoughts, i head towards the office which was already in sight. But just then, a loud gun shot sounded from within the office. That sent alarms in my head. Gripping my sword, i rushed over to office. Bursting through the door, i saw bodies. Bodies of both the non-combatants and of Kyou's assault team.

NPCs were standing over the bodies of my fallen comrades, easily finishing off the others. One of the NPCs grabbed the head of a fallen assault member, and the member disappeared before my eyes. Disintegrated into strings of 'ones' and 'zeroes'. This feeling. This was different. It wasn't like being converted. They weren't becoming NPCs themselves. They weren't passing on. This wasn't the same feeling i got when Ryuuji disappeared. They weren't being converted, nor being forced to pass on. This was... they really disappeared. An empty, hollow feeling, a void left behind by their absence. This cold, dark feeling. That scene came to my mind once more. More vivid, more shocking than ever before. Those bloodied hands, strangling my neck with its strength.

_'Kou...'_

No... This isn't it. I will not die.

_'Kou...'_

I will not let myself be killed. This is not the way it will end.

_'Kou...'_

I will not allow it.

"I will not allow you to run my life, anymore!"

I drew my sword and charged at the nearest NPC who had lifted Kyou up into the air with a hand around her neck. I sliced the hand that held Kyou up, and she dropped to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Twisting my blade, i cut through the NPC, making him disappear. The NPCs in the office noticed my presence, transforming their hands into blades and changing their target to focus onto me. Charging forward, i ducked under the first swing and brought my blade up. Second down. Twisting my body, i thrust my sword forward, sailing through the two halves of the NPC from before and stabbing the third. The rest of the battle seemed to be a blur for me. My blade gliding through the air, cutting through my enemies. My mind could not focus on reality. My body moved to its own accord. I was lost in this unusual dance of death.

_'Your blade is your soul.'_

A distance and familiar voice sounded in my head. My father. Once trained my brother in our family's style of swordsmanship before training me after my brother's death.

_'Ignore all others and look only into yourself. The one you cut down is neither friend nor foe, but your own fragile self.'_

He was strict, constantly scolding and beating the basic teachings into me. He never really cared much for me, but i had a feeling that out of everyone, he was the only one after my brother's death who really saw me for who i was.

_'Being strong, Kou. Never falter, never fail. No matter what life throws at you, no matter what others may say, you must never fall.'_

And i never will.

_'Kou...'_

That bloodied scene. Those bloodied hands. The face that those hands belonged to started to appear. A face gripped by insanity. A sadistic, yet sad and hollow smile. That pained expression, the sadness behind those eyes. A person who had lost everything. A person whom i had once thought to be the very essence of strength and power. The one who casted me aside, who showed nothing but her strict and tough self. A broken person.

Why are you crying? Though you hate me, though you cast me away, though you are killing me with your own hands, why do you cry? Did i mean anything to you in the end? Or had your mind long succumbed to the cries of insanity? Unable to differentiate joy, sadness or hatred? I held little hatred for that person. Little joy in being able to finally reach my own freedom in the cold embrace of death. I was a person without feeling, without thoughts of my own, without emotions, without self. All i did back then was to simply accept things as they were. The blood on those hands. They did not belong to that person. No, they were mine.

I remember it somewhat clearly now. That night, coming home from school. Entering that dark and cold place i had called home. Waiting to greet me was a smile that was not of the sane. I was stabbed. Repeatedly by a kitchen knife. I didn't managed to count how many times i was stabbed, but it did not matter. Blood all over the place. My blood. As i lay there on the ground, in a pool of my own blood, i did not say a word. Not did scream for help, not a whimper. The cold and unfeeling doll was unable to even do a simple task like crying. That person crawled over, saddling on top of me and placing those bloodied hands around my neck.

_'Kou...'_

Those sweet and dark words.

_'My sweet, sweet Kou...'_

Why do you cry?

_'Don't worry... everything will be alright.'_

Why do you say such things?

_'You can rest easy... i'm right here.'_

"... O..kaa...sama..."

* * *

My name is Kurogane Kou. Seventeen years old. I am the younger twin sister of the Kurogane household. My family is some what traditional and old, retaining cultural values when two old households merge. My father's side carried on the Kurogane-ryuu of iai-ken, a specialized quick draw that has been passed down through the family. My mother's side was a direct line from a Samurai daimyou (lord), and was quite influential. However our house was quite modest for a family like ours. We lived in a house that could be called large when compared to other houses, but small when compared to other influential families.

We had a dojo where my father would train students and my brother. My twin brother was a genius. Talented, good-looking and extremely sociable. He was the envy of many and the pride of my family. Me? I was the unwanted. My brother was the sole thing that my parents were most proud of. My mother doted on my brother so much that she did not even acknowledge my existence. At the dinner table, i was simply given a place to sit just to show the neighbours that i wasn't being abused. A mere show. I wasn't talked to, wasn't given any things or any clothes. Most of what i wore were hand-me-downs, mostly from my brother who was the only person who treated me like a person. He talked to me whenever we were alone, about his stress, about his problems. I would simply sit there in my small room and listen to him talk.

"Your room is small and empty as usual."

He would always say as he entered my room to play. Normally we wouldn't be allowed to associate with each other. Him, being the pride of the family, had to constantly work and train himself to meet the standards of the family. I, being the cast aside, was ignored and alone. I had no aspirations, no goals, but being part of the family i too was forced to achieve a certain level of excellence. I did not rebel, did not talk back, did not become a delinquent like you might expect from others in the same position. I simply took it all in. Wanting to be accepted was probably my secret ambition, and it was what strove me to simply bear it all.

Anything i did that was outside what they wanted would only result in me being ignored even more. I took up Kyudo since i was required to take up some form of martial art. The dojo was close to home, allowing me to commute easily. The yumi bow was the first and probably only thing that my parents bought for me. I practised hard and soon came to love the sport. However time was not that kind. My brother and i were involved in an accident. An out-of-control truck swerved and crashed into us. My brother shielded me from most of the impact, so he died in my place.

That incident tore up my family. My mother, stricken with grief, would cry non-stop, lose her temper easily and be violent. My father could only watch as his wife sunk into the depths of despair and insanity. It wasn't long after that my mother started to treat me like my dead brother. She would fond over me, tell me how much she loves me, and how i am her pride. But those were empty words. Those words were not for me, but for my brother. Because i had no other clothes other than my brother's to wear, my mother's delusions were further reinforced. My father did not, could not intervene. And thus i began to live the life of my brother.

I was living a lie, living under the false mask of my dead brother. I had to learn his habits, reach his level of excellence and achieve what he was able to do with ease. Since i wasn't my brother, my mother would often scold me, beat me and demanded to know why i can't do it. In her sad state, i could not talk back, could not shout back that i wasn't my brother. Years of staying silent became a habit. I could not say anything back to my own mother, even when she clearly wrong. My father had to teach me the family style of iai-ken, and during those times he would only tell me to endure it. Endure the painful lessons, endure the torturous scoldings. Endure it all. But it was clear that that wasn't the answer.

My mother sank further into sanity, having bouts of maniac laughter for no apparent reason, beating the servants, or simply staring into the sky in a daze. There was no hope for my mother, and everyone knew that. She lost her son, her pride and joy. The one to survive was me, the cast away child. That night, i came home from school. Late because i had class duty that day. My father had gone off overseas on an annual business trip. I opened the door to the house, finding it all dark. Though unusual, i did not question it. Standing there was my mother. Her hair in a mess as it had been for the past few weeks. Her eyes having those same sad gaze, contrary to her rather creepy smile.

I walked past her after taking off my shoes and walked into the living room. That was when i felt a sharp pain in my back. I was stabbed in the back. The knife was pulled out swiftly, causing great pain throughout my body. I turned around to see my attacker, only to look into the eyes of insanity. My mother. She repeatedly stabbed that knife into me, laughing all the while she did it. I fell to the ground on my back. I remember seeing the ceiling starting to blur out. I did not scream, did not cry. All i did was simply lie there in my own blood. My body was cold and numb. My mother crawled over, dropping the knife elsewhere. She saddled on top of me and wrung her blood-stained hands around my neck.

"Don't worry... we'll always be together... it's going to be alright..."

Her words made me feel pity. Probably the only feeling i had for her. Her warm tears falling down onto my cheeks was the last thing i felt before everything went cold. Kurogane Kou, seventeen. Died from multiple stab wounds to the abdomen and strangulation. Murdered by her own mother. In the end, i did not manage to achieve the thing i wanted from my mother. Her approval.

* * *

"Kou!"

Akira's voice snapped me back from my thoughts. I looked around the office, seeing that all of the NPCs were gone. My sword dripping with fresh blood. My uniform was dyed red, soaked through by the blood. A scene right out from a horror film. I dropped my sword, feeling extremely drained. I don't want to fight anymore. This was all just so tiring. The remaining SSS2 members were all getting back to their feet. Most of them were clearly avoiding me. I can't blame them. I wouldn't get close to my own self at the moment.

"... Kurogane, are you alright?"

Kyou asked, also keeping her distance from me.

"I'm... fine. Where are the rest?"

I noticed that the number of SSS2 members and non-combatants were much lower than before. Even if the NPCs made some of them disappear, given the time from when i heard the gun shot to when i entered the office, there was a sizeable number not accounted for.

"We managed to get about half of the non-combatants out before the NPCs appeared. They caught us by total surprise... what is that power they used?"

"..."

I wouldn't know what power they used. But whatever it was, it was a frightening power. Those who were exposed to such power would disappear. Not pass on, not converted. Completely disappear.

"... Let's focus on getting the rest out."

I quietly said, bending down to pick up my sword-

"Watch out! Kou!"

Akira shouted, pushing me aside with his weight. The impact sent me off my feet and across the office floor. I shook her head after having my brain shaken a bit and looked up, only to see-

**"A-AKIRA!"**

Akira was lifted off the ground by a bladed arm through his abdomen. Akira coughed up blood, trying to grip onto the arm of the NPC who held him there.

"K-Kou... H-here.."

With the last of his strength, Akira threw a wrapped up large item to me. It was long like a staff but seemed to have a large head on one end. Wrapped completely in a large black cloth, it was something that seemed to spell the unwanted, the damned, the evil. I managed to catch the item, but then i noticed that from Akira's wound, the same string of numbers came streaming out. He was disappearing.

"Akira!"

Akira only turned to me and smiled. His body was already disappearing at a rapid rate. More than half of his body was gone. I scrambled to get to my feet, but the blood that soaked me made my grip slippery. I floundered and stumbled like a fish, trying desperately to get to my feet. Akira was... Akira was disappearing! He was disappearing before my eyes! I will not allow it! Not again! Not another person i loved disappearing for me! Not another dying and disappearing before my eyes! No... no... no... NOOO!

"Kou... i... love... y-"

And then... he was gone. Akira was gone. All that was left was his sword, which clattered to the floor.

"AKIRA!"

Blood. Unforgivable. The pain. Despair. Pain. Anguish. I don't want to be alone anymore. Don't leave me. Akira... i want to hear his voice. I want to feel his warmth. I want to see him once more. This can't be the end. My breathing became strained, gripping my chest as i could not find my breath. My mind blanked out. Snapped. Akira was gone... don't leave me.

_Give him back._

I want Akira back.

_Give him back._

I want to see him.

_Give him back._

I want to hold him in my arms.

_Give him back._

I want feel his warmth.

_Give him back._

I want to hear his voice.

_Give him back._

I want to hear him tell me everything was alright.

_Give him back._

I want... Akira.

_Don't leave me._

"... Give... Akira... give..."

My hand tightened its grip on the wrapped weapon.

"Akira... back... give..."

I struggled, getting to my feet. My voice was strained, choked up. Hot tears running down my cheeks.

"... Give... back..."

The NPC turned to me, a slight smirk on his face. This man... will. DIE.

"Give... GIVE AKIRA BACK!"

I pulled the cloth off from the weapon, brandishing my very own personalized weapon. Gleaming from its dark polished surface, made completely of reflective material yet being black in colour, standing at a full head taller than me, weighing only a mere fifteen kilograms. The long smooth shaft having a solid grip for me to hold onto, and the large curved bladed head at the end shifting the weight to that end. My very own personalized weapon. A black scythe. I am death. I am the reaper. I was the symbol of death for my family. Everyone around me always disappears. Everyone i care about dies.

**Kill.**

_Give him back. _

**Kill him. **

_Give him back._

**Kill them all.**

**"AAAAAHHHHH!"**

I charged forward, dragging the heavy weighted weapon across the ground. Sparks flew as my scythe's sharp tip screeched across the office floor. I did not care about my own self, as the NPC's blade cut my skin across my cheek. I was close enough. Using my full strength, i brought the scythe up, slicing cleanly through the NPC. But such a simple death was not to be given. Before his body can disappear, i brought the scythe around, cutting again. And again. And again. And again. I kept swinging my weapon even long after the remains had disappeared.

I wanted Akira back. I wanted him back. My arms finally gave out, dropping my scythe the floor. I was tired. All so tired. I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my cheeks. I reached out for his katana, grabbing onto it and bringing close to my chest. I want to see him again. I want to hear his voice. I want to feel his warmth. But all that was gone. The only piece left of him was this sword. Hikari. It was another way to write his name. In more ways than one, Akira was my light. He was the one that brought me out of the darkness that i had surrounded myself with. And now he wasn't here. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream and let it all out. To let the entire Big Site hear my cries, my pain, my sorrows. Let my cries carry throughout the tunnels, out into the open. Let this entire World know of my sadness, my pain, my anger... my vengeance.

I will kill them all.


	39. Chapter 39

_Angel beats!_

_What We Die For_

_Epilogue_

_Why We Died_

She threw the report back onto the desk after reading through it. Closing her eyes as she massaged the bridge of her nose. The battle this time was costly. How could such a slip up occur on her watch? The fragmentation of the SSS2 was greater than before. But perhaps it was because of the fragmentation that this event was allowed to occur unchecked. She opened her eyes and glared at the man before her. He was silent as ever. She always hated him because of this.

"... So? Why didn't you warn me of this if you had the information beforehand?"

She asked him a question.

"... That is not you jurisdiction."

He quietly replied.

"Not my jurisdiction? Half of the members of Big Site are all gone! A quarter of the reinforcements i sent down there also gone! Not converted, not passed on, GONE! Do you understand the implications of these results?"

"... The information gathered were classified on a need to know basis. We did not expect them to move out so soon-"

"And they did move out that soon!"

She slammed her hands on the desk. Silence fell in the room. She sighed, sitting back in her chair.

"We lost a lot of people because of this. However i have decided not to shut down Big Site. It is too important to us. Ein is already tasking members to close up all tunnels leading to Big Site save for the main one."

"... And you called me all the way for this?"

"This... disaster occurred because you were unwilling to share what you know. You are the intelligence division of the SSS2 and yet you do not wish to give out what you have found. At this rate the SSS2 will fall."

"My men are mine to control, not your puppets. Your tactics are always too large and not well-thought. I would rather be labelled a traitor than let my men die in vain."

"**YOUR MEN ARE PART OF THIS ORGANIZATION**... do you understand that we all need to work together to survive? Especially with this new type of enemy that we face?"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I understand what the situation means. Fine, we will disclose any information we know. But you will not, can not, control my men. The intelligence division is mine, understand?"

She sighed, leaning back once more in her chair.

"Does it look like i have a choice?"

"Good. I'll tell you this. A certain member of Operation: Watchdog has dug up a program that the NPCs are using. It seems to be called 'Angel Player'. So far we do not know much about the program, so we're unable to tell you anymore than that."

"And your member is-?"

"Tenryuu Shuusuke. After submitting the report, he disappeared. For quite some time now, his actions had raised certain... suspicions. It would be wise to warn your members about this. That is all."

He turned to leave.

"... Kenji."

She stopped him just as he was about to turn the handle of the door.

"Hm?"

"... I need to know. Can we really win this?"

He paused for a while.

"... Do you want to hear the truth? Or the answer?"

"... Both."

"... You'll receive my report by the end of the day."

With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him. She did not like the way things were looking. They faced a new enemy, had depleted forces and suffered a massive blow to their morale. But now wasn't the time to be lying down and wait to recover her losses. There wasn't time. They were running out of time. The enemy would attack at any point and with their new capabilities, it was only going to be a matter of time before they were all completely wiped out. She turned to the silent girl sitting on the couch, her head hung low. She had been like that for the past week.

"... Kou. I need you to pull yourself together."

She called out to the girl. Kou looked up, her lifeless eyes staring past her.

"... What do you need?"

Kou asked, not even bothering to ask for details. She did not want to lose Kou, wanting to let the tired girl rest. But they were not given such a luxury of time.

"... I want you to form your own division. Round up the best and most trustworthy members you know. You will be working separately from Fort, Assault, Guild, Diversion and Intelligence. Your primary task as a division is to combat the NPCs. Weed out any traitors and defeat any enemy who tries to destroy our SSS2."

Kou took in slowly, then nodded. She got to her feet, picking up the two identical katana on the table, placing them by her back, before picking up her large black scythe. Wrapping the black cloth that was used to wrap the scythe around her neck, she turned to go, but paused at the door.

"... I can kill them all..."

It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.

"Yes... You can."

With that, Kou left. She sighed, feeling the intense pressure of the room finally lifted.

"... That girl... she's completely lost it... Shinigami... i guess that new nickname suits her well."

A nickname given to Kou after she went berserk, cutting through all the NPCs left in Big Site without caring for her own safety. She was now a wild card. She wasn't even sure if she could control Kou herself. Would she lead them to victory against they newest enemy? Or lead them all to ruin? Taeno Yuki spun her chair around, staring out of the window of the principal office towards the blue sky above.

"... We have all survived this long. We never backed down, striving to survive. But for this sort of event to occur... Just what were we fighting so hard for? Why did we keep clinging onto our pathetic lives? Why did we come here? To face our past? To face our present? Were we sent to face our punishments for our sins? Or to find peace for our lives? Either way, this cannot be the way things end. For those bastards to simply appear and decide for us when we would go. If we cannot control our own destiny even in death, then... what did we die for?"

* * *

_To Be Continued_

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the end of the first half. It was much longer than planned, and it certainly looks like the second half will be equally long, if not longer. While I have written out a small portion of the second half, I do not think it is enough to start posting. As well, it is now the beginning of my final exams. I must pour everything I have into them. If I successfully complete this term, I can spend more time writing the second half of this fic, since I would finally be done with University life... which also means I would be unemployed (crap).

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I had enjoyed writing it. It's been real fun and I'll see you guys next year! Take this as an early Xmas present!

* * *

_Preview_

_"Welcome to the Afterlife"  
"You have a choice, pass on or join us"  
"What is your purpose here?"  
"You cannot hide your true self from me"  
"Don't you DARE call me that!"  
"What have I done.."  
"Draw your sword... We shall end this here and now"_

_"... Onii...sama..."  
_


End file.
